: - Xhe 

Present  Situation  in  China 

and 

Its  Significance  for 
Christian  Missions 


ISSUED  BY  THE 

COMMITTEE  OF  REFERENCE  AND  COUNSEL 
FOREIGN  MISSIONS  CONFERENCE  OF  N.  A. 
25  MADISON  AVENUE,  ::  NEW  YORK,  N.  Y. 


Men  Ought  Always  to  Pray 

The  Christian  cannot  fail  to  see  that  God  is  expressing  Himself 
in  the  spiritual  re-creation  taking  place  in  China.  Inevitably  this  is  a 
matter  of  deepest  concern,  for  it  is  indissolubly  connected  with  the 
growth  and  development  of  His  Kingdom  on  earth. 

By  throwing  the  whole  power  of  their  prayer  and  spiritual  vigor 
into  the  balance  Christians  can  help  to  make  the  impact  of  truth  and 
righteousness  invincible.  They  are  faced  with  an  opportunity  without 
precedent  in  modern  times  and  almost  incomprehensible  in  its  im- 
mensity. Conflicting  idealisms,  misconceptions,  lack  of  sensitiveness, 
may  irreparably  delay  or  set  back  the  flowering  of  Christ’s  spirit  in 
the  mind  and  heart  of  new  China. 

For  these  reasons  the  following  are  suggested  as  coming  within 
the  realm  of  prayer  needed  at  this  time : 

1 . That  those  who  are  leading  Chinese  thought  may  be  actuated  by 
unselfish  motives,  by  pure  purposes,  directed  by  Divine  wisdom,  and 
empowered  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

2.  That  missionaries  may  be  given  the  discernment  of  the  great 
love  to  penetrate  “accidentals,”  finding  God’s  grace  underlying  and 
having  the  supremest  consciousness  of  His  undergirding  presence,  and 
confidence  in  His  ability. 

3.  That  evilly  disposed  persons  may  be  effectually  hindered  from 
interfering  with  the  legitimate  expression  and  growth  of  those  forces 
and  ideas  which  directly  result  from  the  activity  of  the  spirit  of  truth. 

4.  That  all  Christians  may  be  rendered  extremely  sensitive  to  the 
vastness,  the  intricacy,  the  dangers,  and  the  wondrous  potency  of  the 
upheaval  and  unrest  now  manifest  in  the  world  as  related  to  the  exten- 
sion of  God’s  Kingdom. 

5.  That  God’s  spirit  may  not  be  fettered  in  the  slightest  degree  but 
that  because  of  energies  now  released  His  Kingdom  might  break  forth 
in  the  world  in  unmeasured  richness  and  power  and  with  a glory  never 
before  imagined. 

China.  No  man  can  gauge  her  possibilities  for  affecting  the  future 
of  the  human  race.  To  bring  her  in  to  the  fold  of  endeavor  and  thus 
to  link  her  up  with  all  those  who  love  God  supremely  is  a task  of 
unequalled  magnitude.  It  challenges  the  utmost  of  faith.  By  joining 
forces  now  with  God  in  a renewed  devotion  and  consecration  we  can 
bring  to  pass  a revolution  of  the  spirit  that  shall  overwhelm  the  forces 
of  evil  and  go  far  toward  the  establishment  of  God’s  Kingdom  in  this 
generation. 

Let  us  PRAY. 


A CHANGING  CHINA 


The  events  of  the  last  six  months  in  China  have  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  world.  Everyone  has  so  long  thought  of  China  as  the 
“sleeping  giant”  that  it  was  with  a start  of  surprise  they  found  this 
ancient  country  claiming  space  on  the  front  pages  of  the  newspapers. 
As  the  situation  has  developed  and  people  have  come  to  comprehend  a 
little  more  clearly  what  the  disturbances  are  and  what  the  Chinese  are 
demanding,  different  groups  have  been  asking  themselves  how  this 
would  affect  their  interests  in  China.  Various  interests  have  looked 
with  real  alarm  at  the  new  and  seemingly  sudden  developments.  Some 
commercial  men  have  been  quick  to  see  peril  for  their  business  if  diplo- 
matic authorities  should  feel  obliged  to  make  terms  with  the  Chinese 
representatives.  Others  have  been  equally  ready  to  recognize  the 
value  of  good  will  and  generous  acceptance  of  the  Chinese  point  of 
view. 

Not  the  least  among  the  interests  in  China  are  the  Christian  forces. 
They  have  gone  to  China  not  for  purposes  of  exploitation  but  in  order 
to  help  the  people  and  in  their  activities  they  have  built  up  a Chris- 
tian investment  in  China.  Christians  are  not  behind  others  in  trying 
to  pierce  the  unknown  elements  of  the  situation  and  see  how  it  affects 
them.  This  little  booklet  is  an  effort  to  set  forth  in  clear  and  straight- 
forward terms  how  China’s  new  day  may  influence  the  future  of  the 
Christian  movement. 

A study  of  this  sort  is  the  more  important  when  we  recall  that 
the  Chinese  people  comprise  one  quarter  of  the  total  population  of  the 
world,  that  they  have  had  a continuous  existence  as  a nation  for 
longer  than  4,000  years,  and  that  the  country  also  contains  vast 
mineral  and  other  natural  resources  awaiting  development  and  im- 
provement. Here  then  are  the  elements  for  mighty  progress — ^the 
human  resources  in  man-power,  the  vast  material  resources  in  the  raw 
state,  and  the  spiritual  heritage  of  thousands  of  years.  All  that  is 
lacking  is  the  spark  of  self-consciousness  for  the  “giant”  to  arise  and 
set  in  motion  forces  that  can  shake  the  world.  The  awakening  of 
this  self-consciousness  is  going  forward  rapidly  as  recent  events  have 
witnessed. 

China  is  beginning  to  wonder  to-day  whether  Western  nations  are 
prepared  to  concede  her  rights  or  whether  she  will  have  to  fight  for 
them.  Must  she,  despite  her  age-long  pacific  temper,  adopt  militarism 
in  order  to  get  back  from  those  who  hold  her  in  bondage  the  freedom 
she  is  entitled  to?  It  is  a most  serious  question  not  only  for  China 
but  for  the  rest  of  the  world. 

The  Chinese  people  are  essentially  eirenic  in  disposition  and  they 

3 


are  not  at  all  eager  to  become  slaves  to  militarism  in  order  to  throw 
off  the  shackles  of  the  more  galling  bondage  to  Westerners.  But 
they  are  seriously  roused  and  apparently  resolved  to  have  freedom 
from  Western  domination  at  any  cost.  The  picture  of  this  tre- 
mendous nation  building  up  a huge  military  machine  should  cause  every 
Christian  to  give  serious  consideration  to  means  of  preventing  it. 

On  the  other  hand  the  genius  of  the  Chinese  people  is  friendly, 
peaceful  and  thrifty.  With  their  tremendous  human  and  natural  re- 
sources they  can  be  of  immense  benefit  to  the  family  of  nations.  There 
is  no  question  that  China  constitutes  one  of  the  largest  potential  markets 
in  the  world  to-day  for  manufactured  goods  from  other  countries. 

The  spiritual  processes  of  such  a people  are  marvelous  in  their 
variety  and  richness.  It  is  well  within  the  range  of  conceivability 
that  they  should  contribute  most  effectively  toward  the  solution  of 
those  problems  of  international  relationships  that  so  frequently  produce 
war. 

We  believe  that  the  most  noble  course  the  Western  world  can 
follow  to-day  is  the  safest.  Westerners  should  unstintingly  give  of 
their  best  to  China  instead  of  demanding  the  most  from  China. 

The  Christian  enterprise  has  always  stood  for  these  highest  ideals 
of  brotherhood  and  justice  for  all  people.  They  should  stand  as  a unit 
to-day  in  the  effort  to  uphold  those  principles  which  alone  can  secure 
to  China  freedom  from  the  yoke  of  foreign  bondage  and  an  oppor- 
tunity so  to  develop  as  to  contribute  not  only  to  her  own  upbuilding 
but  to  the  greater  sense  of  solidarity  of  all  mankind.  Half-way  meas- 
ures will  be  provocative  of  greater  ills.  Let  the  Christian  movement 
in  China  face  the  future  without  the  handicap  of  our  Western  psy- 
chology and  interference. 

The  modern  missionary  enterprise  in  China  dates  from  1807 
when  Robert  Morrison  landed  at  Canton  in  South  China.  In  the  early 
years  of  his  stay  he  was  able  to  remain  in  the  country  only  by  living 
disguised  as  a Chinese.  So  great  were  the  difficulties  encountered  in 
proclaiming  Christianity  that  at  the  end  of  his  life  he  could  count  only 
a handful  of  those  who  had  accepted  his  message  of  truth.  After 
thirty  years  of  effort  one  of  the  earliest  missionaries  by  the  greatest 
exercise  of  faith,  predicted  that  at  the  end  of  a hundred  years  there 
would  probably  be  a thousand  Christians  in  China.  These  early  mes- 
sengers of  the  Cross  were  face  to  face  with  a different  civilization. 
The  Chinese  values  of  life  were  most  difficult  to  understand  and  their 
cultural  qualities  were  far  removed  from  the  missionaries’  apprecia- 
tion. 

It  is  now  only  a few  years  more  than  a century,  yet  the  Christian 
enterprise  has  grown  far  beyond  the  vision  of  its  pioneers.  Just  a few 
statistics  will  help  us  in  gaining  some  idea  of  its  importance. 

There  are  approximately  8,000  missionaries  in  China.  Associated 
with  them  in  Christian  work  are  about  27,000  Chinese.  There  are  be- 
tween five  and  six  thousand  organized  churches,  having  about  550,000 
baptized  members. 


4 


The  property  owned  for  Christian  purposes  is  valued  at  many 
millions  of  dollars.  No  one  has  ever  been  able  accurately  to  appraise 
its  value.  If  you  will,  stop  for  a moment  and  try  to  visualize  some 
of  the  material  manifestations  of  the  spread  of  Christianity.  There 
are  the  church  buildings,  scattered  in  the  many  cities  and  towns.  There 
are  the  residences  in  which  the  missionaries  live.  Throughout  China 
are  a large  number  of  hospitals  and  orphanages  erected  by  mission- 
aries. The  schools  and  colleges  which  have  grown  up  constitute  a 
monument  to  Christianity  in  almost  numberless  communities.  There 
are  printing  presses  and  publishing  houses  that  add  their  share  to  the 
material  side  of  the  Christian  investment  in  China.  There  are  prob- 
ably not  far  from  300,000  students  in  Christian  schools  in  China  to-day. 

But  we  must  not  put  our  trust  in  figures.  A mere  enumeration  of 
statistics  cannot  in  any  sense  measure  the  quality  of  the  investment 
of  Christian  missions  in  China.  If  it  requires  imagination  for  us  to 
picture  the  material  structures  which  Christianity  has  built  up  how 
much  more  must  we  give  it  play  when  we  seek  to  visualize  the  spiritual 
side  of  Christianity’s  accomplishment  in  that  great  country ! 

The  missionary  has  gone  to  place  his  life  alongside  the  lives  of 
a great  people.  Together  with  the  Chinese  who  are  engaged  with  the 
missionaries  in  Christian  work  there  are  35,000  people  actively  em- 
ployed in  proclaiming  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  throughout  China.  They 
are  spreading  a gospel  of  good  will.  They  are  living  in  the  most  inti- 
mate contact  with  the  daily  concerns  of  the  Chinese  people.  They 
are  striving  by  preaching  and  teaching,  by  healing  and  helping,  to  win 
them  to  friendship  with  Jesus  Christ.  Nor  must  we  overlook  the  lives 
of  the  more  than  half  million  Christians  that  are  focal  points  of  the 
contagion  of  righteousness. 

The  result  is  beyond  calculation.  The  latent  spiritual  perception 
of  this  great  nation  is  being  awakened — a conscience  aroused — an  ideal- 
ism brought  to  life.  Evidences  are  not  lacking  that  in  China  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  beginning  to  be  a reality. 

The  Christian  investment  in  China  affects  the  whole  destiny  of 
the  Chinese  people.  This  is  a day  when  contacts  with  Western  nations 
are  causing  Chinese  young  people  to  cast  aside  many  of  the  most 
sacred  traditions  and  time-honored  usages  of  their  society.  All  the 
strength  and  power  of  the  Christian  leaven  is  needed  to  help  guide 
the  nation  to  dependence  on  the  highest  moral  ideals.  All  the  help  of 
Christian  people  is  needed  to  keep  the  face  of  this  new  and  changing 
China  toward  the  light  of  Christ. 

Christians  have  scattered  the  seed  of  the  Gospel.  It  is  growing 
up  to  a fruitage  fraught  with  tremendous  consequences.  No  one  to-day 
can  destroy  the  Christian  investment  in  China.  It  is  too  firmly  estab- 
lished— too  securely  placed.  It  might  be  possible  to  restrict  its  growth 
or  to  hinder  its  natural  development,  but  it  is  too  firmly  planted  to 
permit  of  its  being  eradicated.  Our  problem  is  to  discover  how  Chris- 
tian people  in  this  country  can  most  effectively  contribute  to  the  ad- 
vancement and  building  up  of  this  great  work  in  China. 

5 


THE  PRESENT  SITUATION  IN  CHINA 


Such  full  accounts  of  the  recent  disturbances  in  China  have  ap- 
peared in  the  newspapers  that  a complete  rehearsal  of  them  here  is 
unnecessary.  We  shall  therefore,  mention  only  the  main  points  in 
outline  and  thus  lead  up  to  the  matters  of  critical  importance. 

Labor  difficulties  in  Shanghai  during  the  spring  of  1925  occurring 
in  some  of  the  foreign-owned  cotton  mills  offered  an  opportunity  for 
certain  college  students  interested  in  social  welfare  work  to  take  a 
hand.  In  a dispute  which  took  place  in  one  of  the  Japanese  cotton 
mills  a Chinese  worker  was  shot  by  a Japanese  overseer.  A large 
memorial  service  for  this  worker  was  led  by  the  students.  This  meet- 
ing was  broken  up  by  the  police,  who  arrested  six  students  on  the 
charge  of  making  speeches  which  tended  to  disturb  the  peace. 

On  May  30  a number  of  groups  of  students  appeared  in  Nanking 
Road  to  protest  against  the  detention  of  their  comrades  in  jail.  A little 
later  a crowd  had  gathered  in  front  of  the  jail  and  appeared  to  the 
police  so  threatening  that  they  opened  fire  after  the  crowd  had  been 
ordered  to  disperse  without  success.  Four  Chinese  were  killed  outright 
and  five  others  died  later.  There  seems  to  be  general  agreement  that 
the  crowd  was  not  armed. 

The  immediate  result  of  this  shooting  was  a great  uproar  that 
spread  throughout  China.  Disturbances  occurred  in  other  places,  and 
in  Hankow  and  Canton  both,  shootings  occurred  which  resulted  in 
loss  of  life.  Demonstrations  were  carried  out  against  the  foreigners 
with  particular  venom  displayed  against  the  British  and  the  Japanese. 
Strikes  were  called  in  various  places.  In  Shanghai  they  were  so  gen- 
eral that  the  public  services  had  to  be  manned  by  foreigners.  Marines 
were  landed  and  a state  approaching  war  existed  for  several  weeks. 
In  Canton  the  foreigners  were  all  obliged  to  leave  the  city  and  remove 
to  Hongkong,  so  dangerous  did  the  situation  appear. 

Feeling  ran  so  high  and  the  accounts  of  events  varied  so  greatly 
that  there  arose  a very  general  demand  that  an  impartial  investigation 
be  conducted  to  determine  the  facts  and  the  responsibility  in  the 
Shanghai  affair.  A diplomatic  commission  was  sent  to  Shanghai  from 
Peking  but  its  findings  were  never  made  public.  This  produced  a 
very  bad  impression  among  the  Chinese  and  hindered  the  efforts  to 
restore  a normal  situation.  It  is  now  reported  that  a judicial  investi- 
gation is  under  way  which  it  is  hoped  will  make  it  possible  to  fix  the 
responsibility  where  it  belongs. 

Causes  of  the  Disturbances 

According  to  the  attitude  of  the  individual  various  causes  have 
been  assigned  for  these  troubles.  Prominent  among  these  have  been 
the  labor  difficulties.  Many  of  the  mills  in  ShangW  are  owned  by 

6 


foreigners.  Working  conditions  in  these  mills  are  admittedly  bad. 
Those  responsible  for  the  mills  claim  they  are  much  better  than  Chinese- 
owned  mills.  Some  college  students  have  been  trying  to  improve  the 
situation.  The  incident  of  the  shooting  of  the  workman  with  the 
consequent  imprisonment  and  shooting  of  students  and  other  Chinese 
by  foreigners  was  undoubtedly  the  match  that  set  off  the  explosion. 

Another  cause  that  has  been  given  much  publicity  is  Bolshevism. 
There  is  no  question  that  there  has  been  a great  deal  of  communist 
propaganda  going  on  in-  China  financed  from  Moscow.  Literature 
has  been  seized,  schools  have  been  closed  and  a great  hue  and  cry  have 
been  raised.  In  Canton  this  influence  is  much  stronger  than  elsewhere. 
Evidently  these  agents  have  gained  a foothold  among  the  revolutionary 
elements  of  South  China.  It  would  be  wrong  to  ascribe  too  much  of 
the  commotion  to  this  cause,  however.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that 
the  Bolshevist  agents  made  use  of  a situation  and  probably  contributed 
to  its  more  violent  manifestations,  but  that  they  are  in  any  large  sense 
responsible  is  doubtful. 

Another  cause  has  been  given  as  the  general  attitude  of  foreigners 
in  China  toward  the  Chinese.  In  this  connection  the  list  of  grievances 
which  the  Chinese  adduce  is  a long  one  running  back  through  the 
years.  The  foreigner  has  intruded  himself  on  China,  setting  up  regu- 
lations and  conducting  business  in  a manner  that  gives  little  or  no 
consideration  for  the  Chinese  point  of  view.  All  this  is  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  the  Chinese  feel  that  the  country  belongs  to  them  and  that 
all  foreigners  are  interlopers.  Some  of  the  grievances  appear  in  the 
list  of  thirteen  demands  which  we  shall  presently  consider. 

But  under  all  the  surface  causes,  far  more  deep-seated,  and  the 
real  wellspring  of  the  present  situation,  is  the  developing  self-con- 
sciousness of  the  Chinese  people.  This  is  sometimes  styled  nationalism 
The  mission  and  government  schools,  the  increasing  contacts  with  the 
western  world,  the  rebuffs  which  China  has  suffered  at  the  hands  of 
other  nations,  have  all  had  their  effect  in  bringing  about  the  present 
mind  of  China.  The  reverse  side  of  this  has  been  their  own  realiza- 
tion of  shortcomings  at  home,  the  lack  of  any  stable  government,  the 
bandits,  and  the  military  chieftains.  These  things  have  been  rather 
gloatingly  pointed  out  to  China  by  western  powers  along  with  much 
free  advice  of  an  unpalatable  nature.  So  that  there  has  grown  up  a 
sort  of  hopeless  fury  at  the  seemingly  unbreakable  coils  of  surround- 
ing circumstances.  There  has  been  growing  through  recent  years  a 
restless  idealism  looking  for  some  way  to  express  itself.  And  then 
the  shooting  occurred  and  the  fire  was  in  the  powder ! 

Influence  of  Christian  Students 

Because  these  demonstrations  have  been  so  largely  sponsored  by 
the  student  groups  in  China  whose  enthusiasm  for  reform  has  some- 
times led  them  to  excesses  of  behavior  it  is  of  importance  that  we  note 
the  part  which  the  Christian  students  have  been  able  to  play.  In  the 
report  of  the  student  demonstrations  in  Peking  contained  in  the  Man- 

7 


Chester  Guardian  Weekly  of  June  19,  1925,  this  statement  is  made: 
“Thirty  thousand  students  and  workers  paraded  past  the  Legation 
quarter  shouting  denunciations  of  the  British  and  Japanese,  flying 
innumerable  banners.  . . . The  demonstrators  preserved  excellent 
order,  due  to  the  restraining  influence  of  the  Christian  students  who 
captured  control  of  the  movement  on  Sunday  and  by  means  of  numer- 
ous marshals  kept  Monday’s  crowds  constantly  on  the  move.”  It  is 
probable  that  Christian  students  were  not  so  successful  in  some  other 
centers  in  directing  the  activities  of  the  demonstrators  and  keeping 
them  within  peaceful  channels  but  they  were  able  to  render  splendid 
service  at  many  points. 

Chinese  Public  Opinion 

Before  considering  the  Chinese  demands  in  detail,  it  is  necessary 
to  point  out  that  behind  the  present  patriotic  movement  stands  the 
united  opinion  of  the  Chinese  people,  both  north  and  south.  Dr.  J. 
Leighton  Stuart,  President  of  Yenching  University,  Peking,  China, 
declares : 

“In  attempting  to  interpret  the  relationship  of  America  to  the  present  situa- 
tion in  China  as  seen  by  one  who  has  quite  recently  come  from  there,  the  first 
and  indeed  the  one  all-important  fact  to  which  I would  call  attention  is  that 
the  present  real  government  of  China  is  public  opinion. 

“The  Provincial  Government  now  functioning  in  Peking  merely  puts  official 
sanction  upon  the  popular  voice.  Those  men  could  not  stay  in  office  if  they 
failed  to  express  and  to  endorse  the  will  of  the  people,  and,  as  a matter  of  fact, 
they  are  all  in  the  heartiest  sympathy  with  it.  Never  before  in  their  long  history 
have  the  Chinese  people  been  so  unanimous,  so  well  informed,  and  so  deeply 
stirred  as  they  are  now  over  this  issue  of  their  sovereign  rights  in  relation  to 
other  countries.  The  phenomenon  of  a vast  populace  which,  for  the  last  four- 
teen years,  since  the  overthrow  of  the  Manchu  Dynasty,  has  been  notoriously 
distracted  by  factional  differences,  now  unified  at  least  so  far  as  concerns  their 
demand  for  the  revision  of  unequal  treaties,  is  one  of  surpassing  significance. 

“The  Chinese  people,  without  exception,  so  far  as  I have  observed,  are  at 
one  in  this  sentiment.  The  students,  held  largely  responsible,  are  merely  the 
most  highly  sensitized  part  of  the  population.  This  nationalistic  self-conscious- 
ness has  been  slowly  forming  for  many  years,  more  recently  with  amazing 
celerity;  but  it  formed  into  a ferment  of  vivid  and  violent  energy  immediately 
on  hearing  of  the  shooting  affray  in  Shanghai  on  May  30th.  It  has  become 
highly  organized  and  is  quite  articulate.  It  is  a striking  instance  of  real  democ- 
racy, this  sheer,  unmitigated  rule  of  the  whole  people  on  a living  issue,  with 
all  the  idealism  and  all  the  dangers  of  such  a situation.” 

So  far  as  Christians  are  concerned.  Rev.  Ralph  A.  Ward,  D.D., 
a missionary  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  writing  from  Peking, 
says : 

“The  non-Chinese  Christian  is  impressed  by  the  fact  that  the  issues  recently 
come  to  focus  in  China  have  united  all  Christian  Chinese  with  every  non- 
Christian  Chinese  who  is  in  protest  against  the  existing  order  of  international 
relationships,  whatever  differences  of  judgment  there  may  be  as  to  methods  for 
changing  that  order.  Neither  I nor  any  of  the  many  foreigners  whom  I have 
asked  have  found  a single  exception  to  this  unanimity. 

“In  other  periods,  on  other  international  issues  where  China  was  affected, 
there  have  been  radical  differences  of  opinion  among  leading  Christian  Chinese. 

8 


Not  so  to-day.  A Christian  of  whatever  race  who  seeks  to  understand  the 
present  situation  does  well  to  note  this  unity.” 

What  the  Chinese  Demand* 

This  united  opinion  in  China  stands  behind  thirteen  demands 
issued  by  the  government  and  later  supplemented  by  a fourteenth  de- 
mand. These  demands  were  originally  framed  by  the  Chinese  Chamber 
of  Commerce  in  Shanghai,  the  most  influential  business  group  in 
China,  were  endorsed  by  labor  and  educational  and  student  groups 
of  Chinese  and  later  accepted  as  the  basis  for  government  action. 
These  thirteen  demands  may  be  grouped  for  convenience  in  two  sec- 
tions. The  first,  covering  seven  points,  deals  directly  with  the  shoot- 
ing of  May  30,  and  calls  for  apology,  compensation,  punishment  of 
offenders,  release  of  Chinese  arrested,  reinstatement  of  strikers  and 
betterment  of  labor  conditions.  The  second  deals  with  general  ques- 
tions long  a source  of  friction,  which,  according  to  the  Chinese,  were 
the  underlying  causes  of  the  Shanghai  affair.  These  demands,  six  in 
number,  include  revision  of  the  Mixed  Court,  municipal  franchise  for 
Chinese  ratepayers  in  the  Foreign  Settlement,  freedom  of  speech  and 
the  press,  and  withdrawal  of  several  proposed  municipal,  Shanghai 
Settlement,  statutes. 

Fundamentally,  however,  all  of  the  Chinese  demands  are  concen- 
trated into  the  fourteenth  point  in  this  list  which  calls  for  a revision 
of  the  so-called  unequal  treaties.  In  particular  this  refers  to  the 
problem  of  extraterritoriality  and  that  of  customs  control. 

Extraterritorialityf 

According  to  Charles  Sumner  Lobingier,  former  Judge  of  the 
United  States  Court  in  Shanghai : “Extraterritoriality,  or  more 
properly  ‘extraterritorial  jurisdiction,’  is  a system  under  which  a sov- 
ereign Power  retains  full  control  of  its  nationals  in  territory  outside  of 
its  own.  This  necessarily  excludes  the  exercise  of  control  over  the 
same  national  by  the  sovereign  Power  of  the  territory  in  which  he  is 
located.  In  other  words  the  national  remains  under  his  own  laws  and 
institutions  instead  of  becoming  amenable  to  those  of  the  locality.” 
(China  Mission  Year  Book,  1924.) 

Thus  an  American  citizen  in  any  part  of  China  who  in  any  way 
infringes  the  law,  civil  or  criminal,  cannot  be  haled  before  a Chinese 
court  but  must  be  tried  before  a tribunal  set  up  by  the  United  States. 
This,  of  course,  means  that  the  United  States  assumes  full  obligation 
for  the  conduct  of  its  nationals  in  China. 

Twenty-two  nations  have  made  treaties  with  China.  Germany  and 
Austria  lost  the  rights  of  extraterritorial  jurisdiction  when  China  de- 
clared war  in  1917.  Russia  renounced  these  rights  in  1924.  The 
treaties  made  by  Bolivia  and  Persia  in  1919  and  1920  also  renounced 

*See  Appendix  I. 

fSee  Appendices  II,  III,  IV,  V,  VI,  VIII. 

9 


these  rights.  The  nationals  of  the  other  seventeen  "treaty  Powers” 
have  these  privileges  of  extraterritoriality.  At  the  present  time  of  the 
123,223  Westerners  in  China,  34,878  have  extraterritorial  privileges  and 
88,345,  including  both  Germans  and  Russians,  do  not  have  such  rights. 
Extraterritoriality  applies,  also,  to  Japanese  in  China,  who  number 
201,704.  (The  Statesman’s  Year  Book,  1925.) 

Consular  Courts 

Foreigners  who  have  extraterritorial  rights  in  China  and  who  are 
charged  with  violation  of  the  law  are  tried  in  the  Consular  Courts  of 
their  own  government.  Thus  the  American  consuls  in  China  and 
the  American  minister  in  Peking  are  empowered  to  try  all  American 
citizens  "charged  with  offenses  against  the  law  and  to  issue  all  the 
necessary  writs  and  processes.”  (W.  W.  Willoughby,  “Foreign  Rights 
and  Interests  in  China.”) 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  most  of  the  American  Consular  officials, 
called  upon  to  act  in  this  judicial  capacity,  were  not  trained  in  the  law 
there  was  considerable  diversity  in  the  method  of  handling  cases.  As  a 
result,  in  1906,  the  American  Congress  created  a United  States  Court 
for  China  to  which  are  transferred  all  cases  of  major  importance. 
This  Court,  with  a Judge  and  a District  Attorney  appointed  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  was  located  in  Shanghai.  The  British 
government  also  maintains  a Court  in  Shanghai. 

Mixed  Courts 

In  accordance  with  the  principle  that  the  foreign  authorities  in 
the  international  settlements  do  not  have  jurisdiction  over  Chinese 
citizens,  “Mixed  Courts”  have  been  established  in  Shanghai  and  Amoy 
and  in  the  French  Concession  in  Shanghai.  These  courts  deal  with  all 
cases  arising  in  the  settlement  in  which  a Chinese  is  a defendant  and  a 
foreigner  the  plaintiff,  and  with  cases  of  violation  by  a Chinese  of  muni- 
cipal regulations.  Cases  of  foreigners  not  having  extraterritorial  rights 
also  come  before  these  courts.  All  cases  in  which  other  foreigners  are 
the  defendants  are  tried  in  the  consular  courts.  In  these  Mixed  Courts 
the  magistrate  is  appointed  by  the  Chinese  government  and  foreign 
assessors  represent  the  consular  authorities.  These  assessors  can  make 
statements,  examine  witnesses,  and  generally  see  that  foreign  inter- 
ests are  given  adequate  and  fair  consideration,  but  they  do  not  share  in 
the  judgments  of  the  court.  The  laws  which  are  administered  are 
the  Chinese  codes  and  the  municipal  legislation.  Appeals  from  these 
Courts  are  made  to  the  Chinese  Courts. 

When  the  revolution  occurred  and  the  Chinese  government  was 
overthrown  in  1911,  the  Mixed  Courts  were  taken  over  by  the  Con- 
sular Bodies  in  Shanghai  and  Amoy  who  reappointed  the  magistrates 
then  in  office  in  order  to  maintain  the  courts ; when  the  Republic  was 
recognized  by  the  Western  Powers,  the  government  of  China  re- 
quested that  these  Mixed  Courts  be  returned  to  its  jurisdiction.  In  due 
time,  this  was  done  in  Amoy,  but  the  request  was  not  acceded  to  in 

10 


Shanghai,  where  it  has  been  a matter  of  controversy  for  more  than 
ten  years.  Under  the  existing  status  of  the  Court  in  Shanghai,  there 
is  no  appeal  from  its  decisions  to  any  other  tribunal.  Moreover,  the 
foreign  authorities  in  that  court  still  continue  to  exercise  jurisdiction 
over  Chinese  citizens,  as  the  Chinese  magistrate  continues  to  be  the 
appointee  of  the  foreign  consuls. 

Treaty  Ports 

Treaty  Ports  are  those  cities  in  which,  by  international  agreement 
with  China,  foreigners  are  permitted  to  reside  and  carry  on  business. 
There  are,  at  present,  49  of  these  ports.  Only  missionaries  are  allowed 
to  reside  and  carry  on  work  outside  these  cities,  and  foreigners — not 
missionaries — are  allowed  to  travel  in  the  interior  only  when  provided 
with  passports  authorizing  them  to  do  so.  Since  the  treaties  of  1858 
and  i860  missionaries  are  permitted  to  travel  and  reside  and  acquire 
property  for  missionary  work  anywhere  in  China.  Most  of  them  live 
outside  the  treaty  ports. 

Customs  Autonomy 

A further  fundamental  demand  of  the  Chinese  relates  to  the  re- 
storation of  customs  autonomy  to  China. 

China’s  import  and  export  tariffs  are  determined  by  its  treaties 
with  foreign  Powers.  This  system  was  established  by  the  treaties  of 
1842-44,  which  were  negotiated  for  the  purpose  of  abolishing  the  exac- 
tions and  other  obstacles  to  foreign  trade  previously  practiced  by  the 
Chinese  authorities.  The  treaties  limit  the  tariff  to  five  per  cent  ad 
valorem.  The  new  treaty,  negotiated  at  the  Washington  Conference, 
and  finally  ratified  in  July,  1925,  provides  for  a modification  of  these 
duties.  It  is  to  bring  about  this  modification  that  the  present  confer- 
ence is  convened. 

The  Customs  Service,  which  collects  the  duties  and  administers 
other  regulations  in  connection  with  import  and  export  trade  in  the 
open  ports,  maintaining  lighthouses  and  other  aids  to  navigation,  etc.,  is 
entirely  under  the  Chinese  Government,  which  employs  foreigners  of 
all  nationalities  as  well  as  its  own  citizens  in  this  work.  The  only 
restriction  upon  the  Chinese  Government  in  the  control  of  this  service 
is  the  provision  that  the  Inspector  General  is  always  to  be  a British 
subject  so  long  as  the  British  share  in  the  import  and  export  trade  of 
China  is  larger  than  that  of  any  other  nation. 

The  Customs  Revenues  are  paid  over  to  the  Chinese  Government, 
which  has,  however,  given  almost  all  of  it  as  security  for  the  payment 
of  interest  on  its  foreign  loans,  since  the  first  of  these  foreign  loans^ 
was  negotiated  after  the  China-Japan  war  in  1894. 

Status  of  Missionaries 

The  status  of  missionaries  in  China  is  set  forth  by  Rev.  A.  L. 
Warnshuis,  Secretary  of  the  International  Missionary  Council,  as  fol- 
lows : 


II 


“The  first  missionary  of  the  Protestant  Churches  to  go  to  China  arrived 
in  1807.  Up  to  1842,  the  position  of  both  the  Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic 
missionaries  was  contrary  to  the  laws  of  China,  which  prohibited  all  foreigners 
from  residing  in  the  country,  and  permitted  the  traders  to  visit  Canton  only 
during  the  trading  season  each  year.  At  the  end  of  each  trading  season,  the 
foreigners  were  compelled  to  retire  to  Macao.  The  first  Protestant  mission- 
aries went  to  Canton  as  in  the  employ  of  the  trading  houses. 

“By  the  treaties  of  1842  and  1844,  five  ports  were  opened  for  foreign  resi- 
dence. The  missionaries,  like  other  foreigners,  could  reside  in  the  open  ports, 
and  were  permitted  to  erect  churches  there,  but  there  was  no  stipulation  giving 
them  any  liberty  to  seek  converts,  and  they  had  no  legal  right  to  reside  or  even 
to  travel  in  the  interior,  or  to  purchase  property  there. 

“However,  when  the  treaties  were  revised  in  1858-60,  each  of  these  con- 
tained a guarantee  of  toleration  for  Christianity,  and  a promise  of  protection 
in  the  exercise  of  their  faith  not  only  to  missionaries  but  also  either  explicitly 
or  by  implication  to  Chinese  Christians.  The  Russian  minister  was  the  first 
to  formulate  such  an  article  on  religious  toleration,  by  which  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment agreed  ‘not  to  persecute  its  Christian  subjects  for  the  exercise  of  the 
duties  of  their  religion,’  and  to  give  permission  to  a fixed  number  of  mission- 
aries to  travel  in  the  interior  to  propagate  their  faith.  In  the  negotiation  of 
the  American  treaty  of  1858,  an  article  on  Christianity  was  inserted  as  a result 
of  the  persistent  efforts  of  the  interpreters,  S.  Wells  Williams  and  W.  A.  P. 
Martin,  both  of  whom  were  missionaries.  This  article  reads  as  follows : 

“Article  XXIX. — The  principles  of  the  Christian  religion,  as  professed  by 
the  Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic  churches,  are  recognized  as  teaching  men 
to  do  good,  and  to  do  to  others  as  they  would  have  others  do  to  them.  Here- 
after, those  who  quietly  profess  and  teach  these  doctrines  shall  not  be  harassed 
or  persecuted  on  account  of  their  faith.  Any  person,  whether  citizen  of  the 
United  States  or  Chinese  convert,  who  according  to  these  tenets  peaceably 
teaches  and  practices  the  principles  of  Christianity,  shall  in  no  case  be  inter- 
fered with  or  molested.  . . . 

“The  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  these  toleration  clauses  have  been 
debated  by  missionaries  from  the  time  of  their  first  enactment.  Among  the 
advantages  claimed,  it  is  pointed  out  that  these  clauses  have  made  possible  most 
of  the  missionary  activity  of  the  Christian  Church  in  the  interior  in  China  from 
1858  to  this  day.  To  the  missionaries  was  given  the  right  to  preach  through- 
out the  empire,  and  the  protection  of  law  for  their  lives  and  property.  While 
Christianity  does  not  depend  upon  treaties  and  political  power  for  its  propaga- 
tion, these  articles  prevented  the  government  of  China  from  becoming  a per- 
secuting agency.  The  weak  and  inexperienced  churches  were  spared  the  ordeal 
of  persecution  and  were  sheltered  until  time  had  been  given  for  their  growth 
in  numbers,  influence,  and  intelligent  comprehension,  and  in  faith  and  courage. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  very  serious  disadvantage  that  arose  out  of  the  placing 
of  Chinese  Christians  under  the  protection  of  foreign  powers  must  be  recog- 
nized. To  be  sure,  it  was  only  as  protectors  of  the  faith  of  the  converts  that  a 
foreign  power  could  legally  intervene,  but  in  practice  the  result  was  to  separate 
the  Chinese  Christians  from  the  mass  of  their  fellow  countrymen,  and  to  make 
of  them  an  enclave  under  the  defense  of  aliens.  So  much  was  this  the  case,  that 
until  comparatively  recent  years  the  Chinese  authorities  unwisely  but  persistently 
made  a sharp  distinction  in  the  terms  used  to  describe  Christian  and  other 
Chinese  subjects.  Moreover,  because  of  this  protection,  there  were  brought  into 
the  churches  those  with  unworthy  motives  who  feigned  conversion.  These 
clauses  were  a serious  blow  to  the  prestige  and  sovereignty  of  the  Chinese  State, 
as  they  practically  removed  Chinese  Christians  from  its  jurisdiction.  Under 
them  the  missionary  came  as  part  of  the  aggressive  West,  depending  on  agree- 
ments wrested  from  the  Chinese  government  by  war.  His  message,  accordingly, 
could  not  but  be  compromised  and  often  was  misunderstood.  By  no  means 
every  missionary  or  every  Chinese  Christian  invoked  their  defense,  and  so  far 

12 


as  the  Christians  are  concerned  these  clauses  in  practice  have  become  almost  a 
dead  letter.  Moreover,  through  faithful  and  consistent  living,  both  missionaries 
and  Chinese  Christians  have  overcome  many  of  the  disadvantages  of  these 
treaties  and  have  witnessed  to  the  coming  of  what  a multitude  of  Chinese  have 
acknowledged  to  be  a new  spiritual  and  religious  power  into  the  ancient  Middle 
Kingdom.” 

The  Missionary  Point  of  View* 

There  is,  of  course,  a wide  divergence  in  the  point  of  view  of 
various  groups  of  missionaries  in  China  in  regard  to  the  present  situa- 
tion. A small  group  stands  with  the  opinion  represented  by  a mission- 
ary from  Hangchow  who  recently  declared: 

“We  hope  the  Powers  will  now  come  forward  and  give  China,  not  a good 
scolding,  but  good,  sound,  healthy  advice  and  help  her  by  taking  her  by  the 
hand  and  lifting  her  up  to  her  own,  and  bringing  her  in  line  with  other  civil- 
ized nations  of  the  world.”  He  adds,  “I  do  not  approve  of  missionaries  dab-, 
bling  in  politics.” 

• This  same  group,  doubtless,  would  stand  with  a prominent  mis- 
sionary who  is  reported  to  have  said: 

“What  hinders  the  Chinese  people  from  unification,  from  being 
recognized  as  equals,  is  not  lack  of  ability — for  that  they  have — it  is 
lack  of  common  honesty.  These  people  have  not  learned  to  say  no. 
They  cannot  tell  the  truth  as  they  ought  to  tell  it,  and  cannot  handle 
other  people’s  money  without  putting  it  into  their  own  pockets.  . . 

The  vast  majority  of  missionaries,  however,  are  believed  to  stand 
for  an  attitude  more  sympathetic  toward  the  demands  of  the  Chinese. 
This  position  is  illustrated  in  a number  of  significant  statements.  One 
of  them,  printed  herewith,  was  addressed  to  Secretary  Kellogg  and 
signed,  among  others,  by  Bishop  Lauress  J.  Birney  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church: 

“But,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  at  the  present  time  a widespread  and 
almost  unanimous  feeling  of  protest  against  the  unfairness  in  existing  treaties, 
including  those  with  America.  This  has  accelerated  the  national  movement, 
which  is  fundamentally  not  anti-foreign,  but  which  may  become  a menace  to 
world  peace. 

“With  these  experiences  and  reflections  in  mind,  we  greet  with  profound 
satisfaction  and  relief  the  report  that  our  Government  contemplates  calling  a 
conference  of  powers  to  consider  the  retrocession  of  extraterritoriality.  We 
approve  the  conditions  suggested  in  the  press  reports,  the  ‘codification  of 
China’s  criminal  and  civil  laws,’  the  ‘establishment  of  a responsible  Chinese 
judiciary,’  and  the  ‘acceptance  by  Chinese  factions  of  the  responsibility  of  the 
Chinese  Central  Government,’  because  they  will  provide  necessary  safeguards 
and  involve  no  infringement  of  Chinese  sovereignty.  We  feel  that  the  risks 
involved  will  be  far  outweighed  by  the  resultant  advantages  in  faith  and 
good-will. 

“We  also  feel  that  the  control  of  its  own  tariff,  internal  revenue,  and  terri- 
tory is  essential  to  the  sovereignty  of  any  nation,  and  since  the  nations  assem- 
bled at  Washington  promised  to  respect  the  sovereignty  of  China,  it  is  impera- 
tive that  these  promises  now  be  kept.  We  feel  that  a conciliatory  attitude  is  a 
sign  of  strength,  and  we  believe  the  time  has  come  when  the  unfair  treaties 
now  binding  China  should  be  revised. 


*See  Appendix  VII. 


13 


“We  therefore  hope  that  the  forthcoming  conference  will  deal  not  only 
with  extraterritoriality  but  will  widen  its  scope  to  include  the  revision  of 
treaties  so  that  all  discriminations  against  the  Chinese,  as  a nation  and  as  a 
people — extraterritoriality,  foreign  concessions,  and  foreign  control  of  the 
Chinese  tariff  and  internal  revenue — shall  be  abolished  as  soon  as  reasonably 
possible. 

“(Signed)  W.  E.  Schubert,  Chairman; 

Paul  G.  Hayes,  Secretary; 

L.  J.  Bieney,  Bishop ; 
and  fifty-two  others.” 

Another  such  statement,  more  positive,  perhaps,  follows : 

“We,  the  undersigned,  wish  to  state  publicly  that  in  harmony  with  the  prac- 
tice of  many  missionaries  and  of  some  missions  in  the  past,  we  earnestly  desire 
that  no  foreign  military  force  be  exerted  to  protect  us  or  our  property,  that 
under  no  circumstances  should  punitive  expeditions  be  sent  out  in  our  behalf, 
and  that  no  indemnities  be  exacted  on  our  account. 

“We  wish  to  make  it  clear  that  we  have  no  authority  to  speak  for  our 
missions  and  sign  simply  in  our  individual  capacities.  At  the  same  time  we  hold 
that  this  position  is  necessarily  involved  in  the  true  idea  of  missionary  work  and 
so  far  as  our  mission  boards  have  not  yet  accepted  it  we  wish  to  work  to  this  end. 

“We  do  not  intend,  by  this  statement,  to  disavow  our  citizenship,  but  we  do 
propose  to  use  such  influence  as  we  have  to  persuade  our  governments  to  recog- 
nize our  right  to  take  this  stand,  and,  without  prejudice  to  those  who  cannot 
take  it,  to  refrain  from  any  action  contrary  thereto.” 

That  some  missionary  administrators  are  prepared  to  act  upon 
the  basis  of  convictions  expressed  above  is  apparent  from  the  follow- 
ing statement  of  Rev.  Ralph  E.  Diffendorfer,  Secretary  of  The  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Qturch,  made  at  the 
Conference  on  American  Relations  with  China: 

After  outlining  the  vast  interests  of  the  missionary  enterprise  in 
China,  Doctor  Diffendorfer  said  that  all  of  the  advices  received  from 
China  in  recent  months  from  experienced  missionary  leaders  indicate 
that  we  have  an  entirely  new  situation  to  deal  with,  one  that  we  have 
never  faced  before  in  China,  a situation  which  makes  it  impossible  any 
longer  for  us  to  evade  the  main  issue,  the  fundamental  attitude  of  the 
Treaty  Powers  toward  the  sovereignty  and  integrity  of  China.  After 
considering  all  that  is  involved,  he  said  that  he  would  recommend  to 
the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  that  the  Board  should  declare  itself  in 
favor  of  relinquishing  the  toleration  clauses  of  China’s  treaties  with 
the  Powers  which  accord  special  privileges  to  missionaries  as  mis- 
sionaries, and  to  support  the  United  States  Government  in  vigorous 
leadership  for  the  abolition  of  extraterritoriality  at  the  earliest  pos- 
sible date.  Doctor  Diffendorfer  also  said  that  henceforth  all  mission- 
aries who  had  been  sent  out  to  China  under  the  old  conditions,  “who 
cannot  live  among  the  people  for  whom  they  are  messengers  of  good 
will  and  love,  under  the  new  conditions  in  China,  should  be  permitted  to 
return  to  the  United  States.” 

The  Challenge  to  Missions 

The  challenge  of  the  present  situation  in  China  is  not  essentially 


dif¥erent  from  what  it  has  always  been.  There  is  perhaps  a difference 
in  the  form  in  which  it  comes  to  us,  or  it  may  be  that  it  is  colored 
by  a little  different  light,  but  there  is  no  change  in  the  substance.  There 
is  an  undiminished  opportunity  to  proclaim  the  righteousness  of  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  there  are  still  hundreds  of  millions  who  have 
not  found  that  Kingdom. 

The  challenge  of  the  present  is  not  necessarily  the  expressed  chal- 
lenge of  an  individual  or  a group.  It  lies  rather  in  the  whole  situation 
as  it  is  developing  in  China.  We  find  an  awakening  people  who  under- 
stand better  than  they  ever  have  what  are  some  of  the  implications  of 
living  in  the  world  to-day.  We  find  young  Chinese  seeking  opportuni- 
ties for  expression  such  as  their  fathers  would  have  scorned.  From 
many  sources,  some  articulate,  some  without  the  power  of  formulating 
their  thought,  questions  and  challenges  are  being  flung  at  the  mission- 
ary work  to  an  extent  that  has  scarcely  been  equalled  in  history.  It  is 
our  problem  as  loyal  Christians  to  understand  and  interpret  this  chal- 
lenging spirit  of  China  in  such  terms  that  we  can  then  supply  the  needs 
of  the  situation. 

So  far  as  the  missionary  enterprise  is  concerned,  there  are  two 
broad  fields  in  which  this  challenge  operates.  It  comes  with  most  im- 
pact upon  those  loyal  and  devoted  souls,  the  missionaries  themselves.  It 
comes  again  to  those  of  us  who  remain  in  this  country  and  support 
the  great  work  with  our  prayers  and  our  interest  and  our  money. 

Let  us  mention  first  three  ways  in  which  this  challenge  presents 
itself  to  the  missionaries. 

One  aspect  is  the  renewed  emphasis  on  the  old  doctrine,  the  mis- 
sionary must  decrease  and  the  Chinese  increase.  The  present  situation 
warns  us  that  in  spite  of  difficulties  or  obstacles  the  burdens  must  be 
shifted.  They  must  be  dumped  onto  the  Chinese,  if  necessary,  in 
order  to  get  the  change  effected.  So  long  as  the  missionary  acts  as 
patron  saint  and  “Lord  Bountiful”  the  Christian  cause  can  never  come 
to  vigor  of  expression  or  vitality  of  character.  The  missionary  must 
decrease  so  that  the  Chinese  can  increase. 

Whether  we  like  it  or  not,  it  appears  certain  that  the  day  of  the 
missionary  bulking  large  as  an  outstanding  statesman  is  practically 
over.  There  have  been  missionaries  of  vision  and  courage,  many  of 
them,  who  have  labored  patiently  and  sacrificially  in  the  vineyard  and 
whose  lives  will  always  be  a sainted  memory  for  their  friends  in  China. 
But  after  our  true  Western  fashion  our  preaching  has  been  overt, 
dictatorial,  masterly  and  preceptual.  Jesus  taught  men  how  to  live  by 
living  with  them.  Probably  the  seed  of  the  Gospel  would  have  found 
more  favored  lodging  places  in  human  hearts  had  it  been  warmed  by 
the  sun  of  human  sympathy  and  understanding.  The  time  is  ripe  for 
the  missionary  to  decrease,  in  fact,  to  fall  into  the  soil  of  Chinese  life 
and  die,  in  order  that  thereby  much  fruit  may  result. 

If  the  present  movement  in  China  means  anything  it  means  that 
the  sooner  the  Chinese  Church  is  in  the  control  of  the  Chinese  the 
sooner  the  world  can  discover  whether  Christianity  as  a way  of  life 

15 


has  taken  a vital  hold  on  China.  If  it  has  not  the  efforts  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  years  of  missions  are  in  vain.  If  it  has,  then  we 
do  not  need  to  worry  about  the  way  in  which  Chinese  Christians  carry 
on.  In  either  case,  it  is  time  to  put  the  issue  to  the  test. 

Another  feature  of  the  challenge  to  the  missionary  is  that  he  must 
keep  his  eye,  his  spiritual  eye,  if  you  will,  fixed  on  the  essentials.  How 
he  is  to  accomplish  this  is  something  we  do  not  need  to  discuss  here. 
Our  purpose  is  only  to  show  that  out  of  the  seething  East  is  coming 
a great  demand  to  know  why  we  are  preaching  a doctrine  that  as  na- 
tions we  fail  to  practice.  The  missionary  must  be  tremendously  on  the 
alert  that  he  does  not  in  any  sense  impede  the  movements  of  the  Spirit 
of  God.  They  are  eagerly  questing  to  see  whether  the  missionary  really 
thinks  as  he. preaches.  We  cannot  impress  them  to-day  with  emphasis 
on  forms  and  ceremonies  and  technicalities.  Their  alertness  is  born 
of  a new  spiritual  perception.  There  is  a laying  waste  of  old  forms 
and  customary  barriers  and  the  time-honored  restraints.  To  them  the 
church  form  is  not  of  consequence.  They  seek  the  inner  guiding 
spirit,  the  controlling  motive.  You  may  hear  it  said,  “They  do  not  know 
what  they  want,”  and  in  a multitude  of  cases  this  is  true.  But  like 
the  men  of  all  ages  they  have  buried  in  them  the  likeness  of  the  divine, 
and  it  does  not  let  them  rest.  Now  in  China  it  is  stirred  to  fresh  mani- 
festation. They  are  seeking  for  a better  way.  It  is  the  way  of  life 
that  Jesus  claimed  to  be.  The  only  way  in  which  it  can  be  revealed  to 
them  is  through  the  absolute  reliance  on  the  Spirit  of  God.  By  the 
dynamic  of  the  Christ  life  they  can  find  the  goal  of  their  dreams.  The 
challenge  of  the  present  is  to  dependence  on  the  warm  free-moving 
untrammeled  ways  of  the  spirit,  not  on  organization,  stiff  and  cold 
with  its  rigid  formularies. 

It  is  no  easy  task  to  frame  the  third  aspect  of  this  challenge.  There 
is  involved  the  most  delicate  appreciation  of  the  most  elusive  of  God’s 
creations,  personality.  Christianity  has  heralded  to  the  world  the  value 
of  the  individual.  Jesus  Christ  died  for  you,  for  me.  Each  indi- 
vidual has  a share  in  the  great  glad  tidings.  The  result  of  this  sort  of 
preaching  has  sometimes  been  to  minister  mightily  to  our  own  esteem, 
and  to  commiserate  the  poor  beggars  who  haven’t  received  the  teach- 
ing. Too  often  Christians  have  overlooked  or  ignored  that  very  preg- 
nant remark  of  our  Lord’s  when  He  said,  “The  kingdom  of  heaven 
is  within  you.”  We  have  gone  about  our  task  of  evangelizing  the  world 
rather  with  the  idea  of  doing  a favor  either  to  the  people  or  to  God, 
than  with  the  idea  of  recognizing  the  image  of  God  in  them.  We  have 
been  obsessed  by  the  metaphors  of  warfare.  We  must  fight  the  foe 
of  sin  and  ignorance  and  superstition.  So  much  so  that  we  have 
frequently  failed  to  recognize  the  likenesses  there  were  to  the  Son  of 
God  among  those  to  whom  we  went. 

Have  we  been  able  to  see  the  kingdom  of  God  within  the  Chinese? 
But  it  is  there.  Doubtless  there  are  missionaries  who  will  never  be  able 
to  accept  or  understand  this  feature  of  the  present  challenge.  It  would 
be  strange  if  it  were  not  so.  But  the  Chinese  to-day  need  to  be  re- 

16 


spected  and  trusted  and  encouraged  for  the  sake  of  the  Kingdom 
within.  Only  as  this  is  accomplished  can  Christianity  really  grip  and 
hold  the  imagination  and  loyalty  of  the  Chinese. 

Let  us  turn  now  to  a consideration  of  the  second  field  in  which  this 
challenge  operates,  namely,  the  Christian  people  of  the  United  States 
and  Canada. 

You  who  are  reading  this  booklet  have  not  come  thus  far  through 
its  pages  without  catching  some  glimpse  of  tremendously  significant 
movements  taking  place  in  a country  that  has  only  startled  the  world 
once  in  her  history.  No  matter  how  we  may  appraise  what  is  going 
on,  we  cannot  fail  to  recognize  that  China  is  no  longer  the  slumbering 
giant  we  have  long  talked  about.  Astonishing  things  are  in  the  way  of 
taking  place.  The  preceding  pages  have  given  us  some  intimation  of 
the  significance  of  these  things.  Now  we  should  think  of  how  they 
affect  us,  as  Kristians,  who  have  held  ourselves  responsible  under 
the  divine  command  of  sending  ministers  of  His  message  to  save  the 
Chinese  people. 

Future  Missionary  Efforts 

Let  us  fairly  face  the  question  of  the  continuance  of  missionary 
activity  in  China.  Can  we  justify  it?  How  may  we  think  conclusively 
on  this  problem  ? 

This  question  can  be  answered  by  us  as  Christians  only  on  the 
basis  of  essential  character  and  quality  of  the  Christian  message.  Let 
us  freely  recognize  that  such  supporting  help  as  may  come  from 
ecclesiastical  organizations  is  only  support  and  not  the  message  itself. 
Let  us  admit  that  the  gospel  of  love  and  truth  and  righteousness  is 
God’s  gift  to  all  men,  not  to  any  one  race  or  country.  The  message  is 
His  message  and  not  ours.  We  are  simply  making  possible  the  wider 
knowledge  of  the  Christ  life  to  the  world.  The  world  has  not  ac- 
cepted it  as  yet.  Therefore  we  must  not  confuse  the  meager  results 
in  Western  life  with  the  true  worth  of  the  gospel  itself.  The  problem 
is  whether  we  are  prepared  to  allow  the  life  of  Christ  to  be  disattached 
from  its  historic  “pillars”  and  reared  among  another  people  freed 
from  these  incumbrances.  If  we  cannot  allow  it — ^but  insist  that  the 
vehicle  is  just  as  essential  as  the  message  it  is  built  to  safeguard  and 
express  we  have  answered  the  challenge  of  the  Chinese  at  this  one 
point  at  least. 

For  there  is  a large  group  of  very  sensitive  Chinese  young  men 
to-day  who  are  trying  to  discover  whether  Christianity  is  a life  or  a 
set  of  doctrines,  or  a church  organization.  They  strongly  suspect  that 
the  heart  of  the  matter  is  the  life  of  Christ  but  that  Western  Chris- 
tians, in  fear  lest  this  life  with  all  its  implications  would  not  be  under- 
stood, have  had  to  say  a lot  of  things  about  it  which  serve  to  obscure 
its  true  beauty,  and  not  to  illuminate  it. 

Most  of  them  are  ready  to  admit  that  Jesus  Christ  proclaimed  very 
vital  truth.  But  they  are  not  willing  to  subscribe  to  Western  interpreta- 
tions of  that  truth.  If  somehow  we  could  hand  them  the  unadulterated 

17 


gospel  free  from  our  Western  theological  appurtenances  they  could  be 
won  to  His  life  service. 

So  the  challenge  to  the  Christian  Church  of  the  West  to-day  is  to 
keep  in  mind  the  essential  values  and  not  stress  the  accidentals.  We 
recognize  at  once  that  these  values  are  spiritual. 

China  is  in  the  midst  of  a vast  upheaval  in  the  spiritual  realm.  It 
is  not  a matter  of  days  or  weeks  but  of  years.  The  process  is  one  of 
growth  and  development  and  will  be  going  on  for  decades  to  come. 
But  we  must  not  ignore  her  gropings  for  the  light  nor  her  searching 
questions  as  she  seeks  to  find  her  way  over  new  paths.  It  is  a time 
most  critical  in  the  seeds  for  future  development.  The  Spirit  of  the 
Christ  is  most  urgently  needed  for  guidance  and  for  strengthening. 
We  cannot  desert  China  in  these  days  when  she  needs  this  Spirit  of 
Divine  Love  in  such  unstinted  measure.  The  challenge  is  that  we  shall 
recognize  this  fact  and  stand  by  to  the  last. 

Another  element  of  challenge  that  should  not  escape  our  atten- 
tion is  the  tremendous  need  which  China  has  now  for  sympathy  and 
understanding.  We  cannot  afford  to  deal  obliquely  or  cavalierly  with 
her.  She  is  beginning  to  awaken  to  some  of  the  indignities  that  have 
been  heaped  upon  her  at  the  hands  of  Western  civilizations  and  she  is 
full  of  dreams  of  righteousness  and  justice,  very  largely  the  product  of 
our  missionary  teaching,  and  already  disillusionment  is  in  danger  of 
producing  disastrous  consequences. 

Let  us  look  at  the  situation  in  China  in  the  perspective  of  time  and 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  Chinese  people  and  appreciate  something 
of  the  mental  and  spiritual  readjustments  they  must  undergo  as  educa- 
tion penetrates  deeper  and  deeper  and  they  realize  what  are  the  issues 
of  life  in  the  modern  world. 

Missionaries  have  struggled  hard  and  labored  lovingly  and  long 
to  produce  in  the  Chinese  a recognition  of  truth  and  righteousness  and 
justice  as  revealed  in  Christ.  They  have  sought  to  liberate  the  Chinese 
mind  from  “its  bondage  of  superstition.”  Now  the  tree  is  coming  to 
fruit.  It  may  not  be  the  kind  of  fruit  the  missionary  hoped  for,  it 
may  be  sour  to  his  mouth,  but  it  is  fruit,  forced  in  some  instances  per- 
haps, but  still  natural  fruit  of  what  has  been  done. 

Let  us  not  therefore  condemn  out  of  hand  the  ebullitions  of 
Chinese  school  boys.  We  should  rather  have  regard  to  the  larger 
movements  of  Chinese  tliought  life  seeking  to  find  a natural  expression 
in  the  world.  They  may  quite  likely  blunder  about  a bit  like  a very 
young  animal  or  a growing  boy  whose  muscles  are  not  coordinated. 
But  there  are  immense  possibilities  in  the  Chinese  people  and  they  are 
most  eager  to  lay  their  contributions  on  the  table  with  the  other  nations 
of  the  world  and  help  to  solve  those  harassing  and  perplexing  problems 
of  human  relationships  that  face  the  world  to-day.  They  have  a store 
of  natural  philosophy  and  of  sane  and  quiet  wisdom  that  will  greatly 
advantage  the  world  if  we  will  only  keep  step  with  them. 

The  challenge  that  faces  us  then  is  to  keep  our  heads  and  not  be 
unduly  incensed  or  excited  about  surface  troubles  but  in  sympathy  and 

i8 


understanding  see  to  the  heart  of  China  and  let  her  feel  the  beating  of 
our  heart  alongside  hers. 

Now  this  demands  of  us  faith  and  courage.  We  may  reasonably 
hope  that  our  national  governments  may  have  every  respect  for  China’s 
effort  to  secure  her  freedom  from  galling  restrictions.  This  is  the 
traditional  attitude  of  our  governments. 

We  must  not  fool  ourselves  into  a state  of  security  in  feeling  that 
all  is  well  in  China.  Far  from  it.  But  affairs  can  be  greatly  improved 
simply  by  letting  China  know  we  are  with  her  in  her  struggles  toward 
the  light  and  liberation  from  bondage  of  all  kinds.  We  will  need  to 
preserve  our  faith  in  the  vital  worth  of  the  Chinese  people  and  in 
their  ability  to  live  and  function  as  good  neighbors  in  a troubled  world. 
We  need  to  keep  burning  brightly  before  us  our  faith  in  the  essential 
good  intentions  of  China.  Much  of  the  suspicion  cast  upon  her  in 
the  past  has  been  by  Western  nations  who  were  seeking  some  cause  for 
trouble.  Anyone  who  really  knows  the  Chinese  loves  them.  They  can 
command  one’s  highest  admiration. 

We  will  need  to  keep  up  our  courage  in  maintaining  our  friendly 
attitude.  Untoward  incidents  that  may  develop  should  not  rob  us  of 
our  purpose  to  be  consistently  friendly.  We  need  also  courage  to 
insist  that  the  Christian  Church  in  China  is  fundamentally  their  concern 
and  they  must  accept  responsibility  for  its  upbuilding  and  development 
along  lines  which  will  completely  and  fully  satisfy  their  natural  genius. 

A challenge  implies  danger.  The  danger  here  is  that  we  shall  fail 
to  act  as  we  should  in  this  period.  To  hesitate  or  to  do  nothing  is  to 
fatally  miss  a wonderful  opportunity.  To  persist  regardless  of  changed 
conditions  is  to  arrive  at  certain  futility. 

To  meet  the  challenge  with  large  vision  and  the  warmth  of  God’s 
own  Spirit  in  dealing  with  them  will  be  to  accomplish  great  things  for 
Him.  Someone  has  said,  “The  Spirit  of  God  is  loose  in  the  world.” 
Can  we  not  recognize  that  God  calls  to  us  in  clarion  tones — not  to  try 
to  harness  His  power,  but  to  live  completely  His  life  among  men  and 
thus  to  show  them  the  wondrousness  of  His  way  of  life  and  its  com- 
plete effectiveness  to  solve  all  our  problems?  China  calls  us  to  a new 
day  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  sun  of  His  Righteousness  is  rising 
clear.  Let  us  not  obscure  it  with  human  clouds  but  rather  make  its 
beauty  plain  to  every  heart. 

There  is  bitter  anti-Christian  agitation  in  many  parts  of  China — 
but,  likewise,  Christian  Chinese,  in  the  face  of  such  propaganda,  are 
demonstrating  the  superiority  of  that  spiritual  possession  to  which 
they  have  laid  claim. 

In  a certain  district  in  the  south  of  China  a Chinese  Christian 
teacher  was  attacked  and  severely  injured  because  he  dared  to  send 
his  sons  to  a mission  school  in  spite  of  the  threats  of  terrorists  who 
sought  to  close  these  schools.  Following  the  attack  this  Christian  wrote 
a letter  to  his  assailants— -a  letter  which  illustrated  rather  clearly  the 
sort  of  contribution  that  Christianity,  in  China,  is  making  to  the 
national  life. 


19 


“To  My  Former  Dear  Students: 

“Sirs  : 

“Yesterday  four  of  you  stopped  and  attacked  me  at  the  lodge  of  the  Cheng 
family.  As  to  how  I was  wounded,  there  is  no  need  of  speaking  as  the  matter 
is  now  a bygone.  I am  ashamed  of  myself  because  my  moral  excellence  has 
been  so  weak  that  I have  not  been  able  to  imitate  the  love  of  my  Lord  Jesus  and 
so  help  my  fellow  men.  Having  sustained  minor  injuries,  how  would  I dare, 
for  such  a small  matter,  to  join  issue  with  you?  . . . 

“If  you  wish  me  to  submit,  you  must  bind, me  by  the  use  of  reason.  You 
must  not  coerce  me  by  the  use  of  your  pomp.  The  man  who  submits  under 
coercion  has  not  standing  as  a man.  If  I lose  my  standing  as  a man,  though  I 
may  be  alive,  I am  as  one  dead,  and  of  what  use  to  you  would  my  submission 
be?  At  the  present  time  our  country  has  too  many  of  such  men — men  who 
regard  life  and  glory  as  gain  and  death  and  insult  as  injury  and  do  not  regard 
as  important  righteousness,  temperance,  virtue.  They  live  from  day  to  day  in 
an  indifferent  manner  without  the  least  self-determination.  Alas  1 why  do  not 
you,  enthusiastic  souls,  think  up  some  method  for  making  the  people  of  our 
country  all  understand  righteousness,  be  governed  by  righteousness  and  be  will- 
ing to  die  for  righteousness? 

“.  . . Jesus  is  the  one  I serve  and  the  truth  is  what  I submit  to.  Where 
there  are  right  principles,  there  is  life;  where  there  are  no  right  principles, 
there  is  death.  To  take  away  my  right  principles  is  to  rob  me  of  life  as  well 
as  to  take  away  my  standing  as  a man. 

“My  formerly  beloved  students,  the  death  of  my  body  is  not  worthy  of 
regret.  I hope  you  can  be  aroused  to  a sense  of  your  wrong.  I am  praying  to 
God  in  your  behalf.  Much  more  do  I desire  to  see  your  face  that  we  may  pray 
together  before  the  benevolent  and  merciful  God.” 

Young  China,  to-day,  is  seeking  to  evaluate  not  only  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  but  Christianity  itself.  It  is  doubtful  if  ever,  before, 
among  any  people,  have  a nation’s  youth  been  of  so  earnestly  an.  in- 
quiring mind  in  matters  pertaining  »to-  religion.  But  in  the  midst  of 
the  deepest  suspicion  of  organized  religion — as  sometimes  manifested 
in  the  actions  of  so-called  religious  peoples — there  is  an  intense  interest 
in  the  person  and  teachings  of  Jesus. 

In  the  present  situation  the  Chinese  are  eagerly  waiting  to  know 
what  the  Christian  voice  of  the  West  will  be.  If  Christianity  has  been 
put  to  an  academic  test,  during  the  past  few  years  in  China,  now,  cer- 
tainly, is  its  practical  testing  time.  Chinese  believe  that  now,  as  at  no 
previous  time,  are  Christians  faced  with  the  opportunity  of  demonstrat- 
ing that,  regardless  of  the  criticisms  levelled  against  it,  the  Chris- 
tian Church  can  demonstrate,  in  practical  terms,  the  faith  that  it 
represents. 

A newspaper  correspondent — a Chinese — puts  the  Christian 
opportunity  in  the  following  declaration : 

“Upon  Christians  throughout  the  world,  therefore,  rests  a respon- 
sibility to  evidence  their  faith  by  a practical  application  of  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Prince  of  Peace.  Do  they  believe  in  their  hearts  that 
Christ  is  the  apostle  of  peace?  that  right  is  greater  than  might?  that 
justice  is  a condition  which  race,  creed  nor  color  affects?  that  it  is 
un-Christian  to  oppress  and  sinful  to  regard  with  levity  those  prin- 
ciples of  human  conduct  which  are  the  essence  of  what  was  pro- 

20 


claimed  by  the  gentle  Nazarene?  If  so  they  will  vitalize  their  beliefs 
by  positive  acts ; they  will  throw  in  the  full  force  of  their  great  power 
for  good  and  help  by  all  possible  means  to  bring  about  the  suppression 
of  Western  tyranny  in  China  and  thus  restore  to  a quarter  of  the 
world’s  population  their  shaken  faith  in  the  eternal  supremacy  of 
justice. 

“The  challenge  is  to  the  faith  of  all  Christians.  China  is  watching. 
Your  fidelity  to  religious  professions  is  being  tested.  Will  it  be  found 
wanting.” 

Benefits  to  Christianity 

The  fact  that  there  has  been  a strong  anti-Christian  movement 
going  on  in  China  for  several  years,  and  that  the  recent  disturbances 
have  had  a very  strong  anti- foreign  flavor  might  give  a good  deal  of 
concern  to  true  lovers  of  our  Lord.  There  would  appear  to  be  reason 
to  fear  lest  all  this  upsetting  of  the  mind  of  China  might  hinder  the 
cause  of  Christian  work. 

We  cannot  escape  the  fact  that  the  uproar  that  has  arisen  has 
called  out  into  the  open  some  very  difficult  problems.  While  these  are 
far  from  being  solved,  it  is  quite  within  the  bounds  of  reason  to  sug- 
gest that  the  very  process  of  meeting  them  will  be  a real  means  of 
grace  and  advancement  for  the  cause  of  Christ  in  China. 

Think  if  you  will  of  the  benefit  that  accrues  to  any  movement 
when  it  is  challenged  to  define  itself  in  unmistakable  terms.  For 
years  Christian  missions  have  gone  on  in  very  much  the  same  quiet 
way,  satisfied  that  their  message  was  being  “put  across”  in  a convinc- 
ing manner.  Then  when  the  whirlwind  of  doubt  and  suspicion  strikes 
them  they  find  that  different  measures  are  necessary  to  clarify  their 
meaning.  This  need  not  imply  that  no  one  in  China  had  yet  dis- 
covered what  Christianity  was  all  about.  Many  of  the  Chinese  people 
have  entered  into  a fullness  of  life  with  Christ  that  is  thrilling  to‘  see. 
But  it  does  mean  that  there  have  been  many  misapprehensions  among 
the  mass  of  the  Chinese  as  to  the  purpose  of  these  “foreign  devils”  in 
living  and  preaching  this  strange  doctrine  in  China.  So  the  anti- 
Christian  movement  has  challenged  Christians  to  make  plain  the  way 
of  life. 

Not  the  least  part  of  the  benefit  at  this  point  has  come  in  the 
stirring  of  some  of  the  young  Chinese  Christians.  They  perhaps  have 
more  quickly  recognized  the  opportunity  than  the  missionaries.  The 
result  is  a fervid  enthusiasm  to  proclaim  the  truth  of  Christ.  They 
have  written  and  are  writing  copiously  in  a way  to  reach  the  under- 
standing of  the  people.  They  are  beginning  to  build  up  a really 
Chinese  statement  and  defense  of  the  Gospel  in  terms  of  the  new 
intellectual  awakening.  From  the  standpoint  of  the  voracious  intellects 
of  young  China — ^the  student  groups  that  are  seething  with  youthful 
energy- — this  is  of  the  utmost  significance  and  value.  They  are  able  to 
present  the  truths  of  religion  in  a way  that  will  attract  the  attention 
of  these  surging  minds.  The  fact  that  Chinese  of  keen  perception  who 

21 


are  in  the  forefront  of  the  intellectual  movement  have  taken  it  on 
their  hearts  to  interpret  Christianity  to  China  is  one  of  the  most 
hopeful  and  satisfying  of  gains. 

There  is  the  added  advantage  that  is  the  natural  result  of  minds 
that  have  become  alert.  While  we  were  dealing  with  a passive,  apathetic, 
and  indifferent  people  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  the  claims 
of  Christianity  made  any  impression.  The  wave  of  feeling  that  has 
swept  over  China  has  greatly  stirred  the  imagination  of  multitudes  of 
the  Chinese.  This  cannot  help  but  provide  a much  more  fertile  ground 
for  the  sowing  of  the  seed  of  Christian  truth. 

Everyone  is  well  enough  acquainted  with  the  fundamentals  of 
advertising  to  realize  that  all  this  activity  directed  against  Christianity 
for  the  last  two  or  three  years  has  had  tremendous  publicity  value. 
You  cannot  shout  anathemas  at  a thing  in  the  market-place  and  in  the 
public  press  without  letting  the  object  of  your  curses  be  known.  Peo- 
ple may  never  have  considered  it  worth  attention  before  but  when  they 
find  a vociferous  opposition  set  up  they  begin  to  take  notice.  The 
students  in  their  anti-Christian  propaganda  have  rendered  a valuable 
service  to  the  cause  of  the  Gospel.  The  extent  to  which  it  has  been 
noised  about  has  greatly  enlarged  the  circle  of  those  who  are  potential 
disciples. 

One  of  the  taunts  that  has  long  been  flung  at  the  students  in 
Christian  schools  is  that  they  are  attending  foreign  schools,  and  that 
they  are  being  denationalized,  and  have  no  patriotism.  The  same 
thing  has  been  true,  to  a somewhat  lesser  extent,  in  the  attitude  of  the 
Chinese  as  a whole  toward  those  who  have  taken  the  Christian  name. 
People  in  this  country  probably  cannot  appreciate  how  deep  a stigma 
this  has  been,  especially  in  more  recent  years.  Mission  students  have 
been  very  sensitive  to  this  feeling  and  it  has  meant  no  little  difficulty 
for  the  missionary  to  be  patient  with  them  in  the  excess  of  enthusiasm 
they  have  felt  obliged  to  express  in  order  to  put  their  accusers  in  the 
wrong.  This  present  period  of  disturbance  has  given  Christians  ample 
opportunity  to  prove  their  patriotism.  It  has  been  one  of  the  constant 
efforts  of  missionaries  to  stir  up  in  the  minds  of  the  Chinese  with 
whom  they  have  dealt  a love  for  their  country  that  would  lead  them 
to  improve  it  as  a place  in  which  to  live.  There  is  no  question  that 
through  the  years  the  effect  of  the  Christian  Gospel  in  the  hearts  and 
minds  of  the  Chinese  has  had  a great  deal  to  do  with  bringing  about 
the  present  breakdown  of  apathy  and  the  resulting  disturbances.  Any 
situation  that  makes  demands  for  a display  of  real  patriotic  feeling  will 
find  hearty  response  from  the  Christians.  This  element  in  the  present 
situation  must  take  its  place  among  the  benefits. 

We  would  be  untrue  to  our  faith  if  we  failed  to  record  the  great- 
est benefit  that  can  come  out  of  any  such  situation.  This  is  the  growth 
and  development  of  the  inner  spiritual  life  of  those  who  live  through 
such  trying  times.  Thinking  on  various  issues  may  be  confused,  high 
feelings  may  produce  violent  actions  that  cause  suffering,  but  when 
the  dust  subsides  and  wisdom  rules  again  there  cannot  fail  to  be  a 

22 


definite  increase  in  the  lives  of  the  individuals.  Any  such  experience 
throws  the  sincere  soul  back  on  God:  In  the  end  it  produces  a more 
Christ-like  way  of  regarding  life.  This  benefit  must  inevitably  come 
about  in  the  hearts  of  Chinese  Christians  as  one  of  the  results  of  the 
recent  upheaval. 

One  of  the  mission  boards  received  word  from  the  Chinese  Chris- 
tians in  one  of  its  missions,  not  long  ago,  that  they  had  decided  that 
the  time  had  come  for  them  to  take  over  the  whole  management  of  the 
work  of  the  mission.  The  conviction  had  been  borne  in  upon  them 
that  there  could  not  be  a Chinese  church  until  they  themselves  assumed 
responsibility  for  conducting  its  affairs.  They  still  want  the  mission- 
ary, but  they  want  him  to  assist,  no  longer  to  direct  affairs.  Here  is  a 
revolution.  Do  not  minimize  its  importance.  Your  imagination  can 
build  on  this  event  and  picture  the  glory  of  a new  day.  This  is  one 
of  the  banners  which  the  sun  hangs  in  the  eastern  sky  to  herald  his 
triumphant  approach.  Now  is  the  time  for  Christians  everywhere  to 
lift  their  voices  in  praise  and  their  hearts  in  prayer  that  God  Himself 
may  give  His  greatest  grace  and  wisdom  to  those  who  live  and  work 
through  a situation  of  this  kind.  Truly  you  shall  see  greater  things 
than  these. 


23 


APPENDICES 

I 

THE  FOREIGN  RELATIONS  OF  CHINA 

Professor  S.  Gale  Lowrie,  University  of  Cincinnati 

(Extract  from  a pamphlet  prepared  for  the  Conference  on  American 
Relations  with  China) 

America  and  China  are  bound  together  by  strong  material  ties. 
They  both  flank  the  Pacific,  the  highway  of  the  commerce  of  the  future 
and  the  area  of  the  most  serious  problems  of  the  next  half  century. 
American  trade  and  commerce  is  already  of  the  first  magnitude  and 
will  increase  enormously  if  American  capital  is  to  participate  in  bring- 
ing the  great  undeveloped  resources  of  the  Orient  to  human  use.  But 
the  ties  of  sentiment  which  our  religious  and  cultural  associations  have 
knit  hold  us  even  more  closely.  It  seems  a long  time  ago,  as  we 
record  history,  that  American  missionary  enterprises  began  in  China. 
It  was  in  1829.  The  movement  seemed  pitiably  weak,  the  discouraging 
circumstances  overwhelming.  A difficult  foreign  language,  a highly 
developed  culture  little  known  in  the  West,  indifference  and  hostility 
from  officials,  prohibitions  on  travel  and  on  the  ownership  of  property, 
persecution  of  converts  and  a seeming  indifference  at  home  formed  but 
a few  of  the  obstacles  against  which  the  early  missionaries  contended. 
Yet  in  America  hundreds  of  thousands  learned  first  about  China  and 
developed  an  interest  in  her  through  these  endeavors,  and  in  China 
forces  were  started  which  are  resulting  in  a great  renascence. 

The  critical  situation  in  China  to-day  is  largely  traceable  to  the 
cultural  and  religious  influence  the  missionaries  introduced.  They 
brought  to  the  Chinese  schools  and  hospitals  and  a desire  to  know  of 
the  learning  of  the  West.  One  of  the  most  significant  movements  of 
history,  the  sending  of  thousands  of  carefully  selected  Chinese  stu- 
dents to  the  Occident  for  a Western  education  that  they  might  return 
for  the  dissemination  of  this  culture  at  home,  was  strongly  affected  by 
missionary  influences.  The  leading  force  in  China  to-day  is  the  stu- 
dent. He  is  directing  the  groping  feeling  for  nationalism  and  the  de- 
mand for  a readjustment  of  relations  with  the  foreign  Powers.  The 
Soviets  have  not  created  the  unrest;  they  are  merely  attempting  to 
turn  to  their  own  ends  forces  already  at  work.  Nor  is  the  national 
consciousness  which  is  being  evidenced  unwholesome.  The  Oriental 
policy  of  the  United  States  has  been  to  secure,  if  possible,  equal  oppor- 
tunity for  all  nations  in  the  trade  and  development  of  China  and  to 

24 


encourage  China  herself  to  become  a strong  enough  power  to  be  the 
guarantor  of  this  equality.  If  this  policy  is  to  be  made  effective,  a 
nationally  conscious,  self-respecting  country,  jealous  of  her  rights, 
must  evolve.  The  difficulty  at  this  time  arises  out  of  the  fact  that 
the  relations  which  have  grown  up  between  China  and  the  Powers  of 
the  West  need  readjustment.  These  rest  partly  on  treaty  provisions 
and  are  partly  the  result  of  other  concessions.  Because  of  the  inter- 
dependence of  the  treaties, .it  is  difficult  for  any  Power  to  act  alone,  and 
because  of  the  political  chaos  now  prevalent  in  China,  it  has  not  seemed 
possible  as  yet  to  dissociate  many  of  the  matters  which  should  be  of 
domestic  concern  from  international  control. 

China  does  not  enjoy  independence  in  these  essential  matters  and 
the  limitations  are  in  respect  to  no  single  Power,  but  to  most  of  the 
leading  nations  of  the  world.  The  restrictions  have  been  established 
usually  by  treaty,  and  by  interlocking  clauses,  such  as  “most  favored 
nation”  concessions,  China  has  undertaken  to  gjant  that  all  special 
privileges  and  advantages  she  may  concede  to  any  nation  will  be 
granted  to  all  the  rest  as  well.  Since  no  country  wishes  to  place  its 
own  citizens  at  a disadvantage,  practical  unanimity  is  required  to 
effect  any  material  change.  Consequently  any  grievance  or  counter 
claim  any  nation  may  wish  to  interject  before  consenting  to  a general 
reform  may  prevent  the  carrying  out  of  the  program  by  the  other 
nations  as  well. 

The  fiscal  limitations  under  which  China  is  placed  are  very  severe. 
The  most  notable  are  with  respect  to  the  maritime  customs.  While 
other  nations  have  unlimited  authority  in  establishing  customs  tariffs 
either  to  secure  revenue  or  for  the  protection  of  native  industries, 
China  has  no  such  right.  Nor  did  the  sacrifice  of  this  power  bring 
her  reciprocal  commercial  advantages.  By  treaty,  first  with  Great 
Britain  following  the  Opium  War,  but  made  universal  by  the  “most 
favored  nation”  clauses,  China  has  entered  into  unilateral  agreements 
to  charge  no  more  than  five  per  cent  ad  valorem  customs  taxes  on  goods 
brought  into  or  taken  from  the  country.  Goods  from  China  entering 
other  countries  may  be  charged  any  amount  the  importing  country 
desires  and  China’s  voice  is  not  heard  in  protest.  But  even  the  five 
per  cent  permitted  China  has  been  reduced  materially  in  actual  prac- 
tice by  a system  of  agreed  values,  so  that  the  five  per  cent  is  really 
something  less  than  four  per  cent.  The  funds  from  these  customs  are 
collected  by  a department  in  which  foreigners  are  employed  as  principal 
officers  by  the  Chinese  Government. 

The  sums  collected  are  applied  first  to  the  satisfaction  of  foreign 
claims  against  China  for  which  the  customs  income  has  been  guaran- 
teed as  security,  and  only  the  surplus  is  available  for  the  central  gov- 
ernment. In  a similar,  though  not  in  so  complete  a way,  foreigners 
are  concerned  with  the  administration  of  the  salt  tax  and  the  wine  and 
tobacco  revenue.  Nor  is  it  conceded  that  China  should  be  uninfluenced 
in  shaping  her  other  revenue  plans.  Foreign  pressure  has  been  exerted 
constantly  for  the  abolition  of  the  likin,  a troublesome,  unscientific 

25 


tax  on  goods  transferred  from  place  to  place  within  the  country.  Until 
China’s  defeat  in  the  war  with  Japan  (1894),  China  was  free  from 
foreign  debt.  For  one  reason  or  another  she  has  been  compelled  to 
obtain  money  abroad  until  she  now  owes  almost  a billion  dollars  in 
gold,  including  domestic  obligations.  The  loans  negotiated  by  the 
Chinese,  whether  foreign  or  domestic,  invariably  designate  certain 
revenues  to  be  applied  to  the  interest  payments  and  for  the  ultimate 
liquidation  of  the  debt. 

The  restrictions  on  the  jurisdictional  authority  of  China  may  be 
less  costly  to  her  exchequer  but  seem  more  humiliating.  Of  first  im- 
portance among  them  are  to  be  noted  the  extraterritorial  privileges  other 
nations  enjoy.  While  it  is  the  almost  universal  rule  that  persons 
within  a country  of  whatever  nationality,  unless  they  be  of  the  diplo- 
matic corps,  are  amenable  to  the  laws  of  that  country  as  interpreted 
by  her  courts  and  administered  by  her  officials,  in  China  citizens  of 
most  of  the  European  and  American  Powers  are  free  from  the  native 
laws  and  answerable  only  to  those  of  their  own  respective  countries. 
These  laws  are  applied  either  by  the  consuls  of  the  countries  of  the 
nationals  involved  or  by  special  national  courts  which  have  been  set 
up  for  that  purpose.  Moreover,  there  are  in  certain  of  the  larger 
cities  special  areas  known  as  “concessions”  within  which  all  govern- 
mental matters  are  under  foreign  control  and  on  occasion  the  Chinese 
may  be  forbidden  even  to  enter  these  areas.  Those  f)ermitted  to  come 
in  may  be  subject  to  such  restrictions  as  the  foreigners  impose.  These 
restrictions  are  often  humiliating.  No  taxes  are  paid  to  China  by  the 
foreigners  in  these  concessions  but  both  Chinese  and  foreigners,  living 
or  carrying  on  business  therein,  pay  taxes  to  the  foreign  concession.  In 
the  Shanghai  settlement,  the  Chinese  constitute  over  seventy  per  cent  of 
the  population  and  pay  more  taxes  than  residents  of  any  other  na- 
tionality, yet  they  have  no  voice  at  all  in  the  selection  of  governmental 
officials  nor  influence  on  their  policies.  While  some  matters  pertain- 
ing to  the  government  of  the  Shanghai  foreign  settlement  are  deter- 
mined by  the  foreign  rate-payers,  the  governing  commission  itself 
meets  in  secret  session  to  which  none,  be  he  foreigner  or  Chinese,  is 
admitted.  Even  in  Peking,  the  national  capital,  which  is  not  a treaty 
port,  the  diplomatic  quarter  in  the  heart  of  the  city  is  governed  exclu- 
sively by  the  diplomatic  corps  and  Chinese  are  permitted  to  enter  only 
under  limitations.  It  is  as  restricted,  so  far  as  they  are  concerned,  as 
though  it  were  a military  reservation,  this  resulting  from  the  Boxer 
uprising  in  1900,  when  the  legations  were  under  siege  for  two  months. 

In  1898  there  began  a series  of  “leases”  under  which  foreign  gov- 
ernments secured  control  over  Chinese  territory,  although  sovereignty, 
at  least  nominally,  remained  with  the  Empire.  Under  this  system  Ger- 
many acquired  Kiaochow  in  Shantung;  Russia  secured  Port  Arthur 
and  the  Kwantung  Peninsula ; Great  Britain,  Weihaiwei,  and  Kowloon, 
opposite  Hongkong;  and  France,  Kwanchow-wan.  All  of  these  leases 
were  for  ninety-nine  years.  These  arrangements  were  changed  when 
Japan  secured,  by  the  Russo-Japanese  war,  the  Russian  lease  and  by 

26 


the  Treaty  of  Versailles,  the  German  lease.  The  latter  Japan  returned 
to  China  under  the  terms  of  the  Washington  treaties  of  1922;  the 
former  is  still  in  Japan’s  possession.  Until  recently,  foreign  govern- 
ments operated  post  offices  in  the  principal  Chinese  cities  where  for- 
eigners resided.  The  withdrawal  of  these  was  one  of  the  fruits  of  the 
Washington  treaties.  Foreign  loans  for  the  building  and  operation  of 
railways  have  carried  with  them  a certain  measure  of  foreign  control  in 
their  administration.  Coastwise  shipping  and  shipping  in  inland  waters, 
which  most  countries  reserve  exclusively  for  their  citizens,  is.  engaged 
in  extensively  by  foreigners.  In  still  another  way  China’s  independ- 
ence has  been  limited.  She  has  made  agreements  from  time  to  time 
that  whenever  commercial  or  industrial  developments  of  certain  kinds 
are  to  be  undertaken,  these  shall  be  entrusted  exclusively  to  the  na- 
tionals of  certain  Powers.  These  nations  do  not  guarantee  that  their 
citizens  will  utilize  these  grants ; the  provisions  are  merely  that  no 
others  may  be  permitted  to  exploit  these  concessions.  The  agreements 
are  unilateral,  often  made  all  too  casually,  and  sometimes  upon  the  per- 
sonal responsibility  of  an  official.  They  may  be  unknown  to  the  world 
at  large  or  even  to  the  Chinese  Government  itself  till  objection  is 
made  to  some  development  the  government  has  in  view. 

But  while  the  Western  Powers  have  many  dark  pages  in  the 
record  of  their  dealings  with  the  Chinese,  many  of  the  methods  which 
now  seem  to  impair  China’s  sovereignty  most  seriously  were  instituted 
with  no  purpose  of  limiting  her  independence  but  as  the  best  solutions 
at  hand  for  difficult  situations,  trying  to  foreigner  and  native  alike. 
Many  of  them  have  greatly  profited  the  Chinese.  The  limitation  on 
the  amount  of  the  customs  tariff  was  contained  in  the  Treaty  of  Nan- 
king of  1842  and  in  the  commerce  treaty  of  the  following  year.  These 
treaties  opened  certain  “treaty  ports”  and  provided  for  “concessions” 
or  “settlements”  within  them.  The  provision  for  a five  per  cent  tariff 
which  now  seems  so  grossly  inadequate,  was  in  lieu  of  a series  of  local 
charges  and  imposts  which  had  formerly  been  charged.  It  was  not  so 
much  to  get  a cheap  rate  as  to  simplify  a complicated  and  annoying 
series  of  practices.  This  was  its  chief  virtue  for  the  foreigner ; for  the 
Imperial  Government  it  provided  a form  of  revenue  not  enjoyed  up  to 
that  time,  and  established  an  economical  and  fairly  certain  method  of 
collection.  It  was  almost  clear  fiscal  gain  for  China.  The  plan  of 
foreign  administration  of  the  maritime  customs  came  quite  by  accident 
and  was  not  for  the  purpose  of  assuring  the  payment  of  foreign  debts. 
During  the  Taiping  rebellion  in  1853,  the  question  arose  at  Shanghai 
as  to  the  proper  officials  to  whom  the  customs  charges  should  be  paid. 
As  a temporary  expedient,  foreign  merchants  adopted  the  practice  of 
declaring  their  goods  and  paying  the  required  duties  before  their 
consuls.  T^he  consuls  were  to  see  that  these  funds  reached  the  proper 
governmental  officials.  Soon  after,  the  method  was  modified  so  that 
payments  were  made  to  three  foreigners,  a Britisher,  an  American  and 
a Frenchman,  appointed  by  the  Chinese  local  customs  official.  This 
plan  worked  admirably  and  was  extended  to  all  treaty  ports.  It  is  the 

27 


most  efficient  administrative  institution  in  China  to-day.  It  has  ex- 
tended its  services  to  the  surveying  of  rivers  and  harbors  and  coastal 
waters,  the  establishment  of  lighthouses,  the  publication  of  trade  sta- 
tistics, the  establishment  of  the  Chinese  post  office,  of  the  language 
schools,  and  the  protection  of  the  public  health  in  port  cities.  In  the 
disorganized  state  of  governmental  affairs  its  services  have  seemed 
almost  indispensable.  Undoubtedly  the  Chinese  would  desire  that  it 
should  be  the  last  of  the  foreign  controlled  institutions  to  be  put 
entirely  in  Chinese  hands.  Yet  it  would  seem  to  have  been  admin- 
istered with  too  little  regard  for  the  fact  that  it  is  a service  which 
the  Chinese  themselves  should  ultimately  control.  It  has  not  trained 
Chinese  for  the  more  responsible  positions.  The  head  is  a British  sub- 
ject and  the  staff  is  composed  both  of  nationals  of  countries  with  treaty 
relations  and  commerce  with  China  and  of  Chinese.  While  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  Inspector  General  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Chinese,  the 
British  Government  is  not  without  influence  in  his  selection.  His 
power  over  the  staff  is  very  complete.  Nor  have  the  Powers  hesi- 
tated to  use  the  force  of  their  navies  to  see  that  these  customs  officials 
are  uninterrupted  in  their  duties.  This  is  partly  because  the  proceeds 
of  the  customs  have  been  pledged  for  foreign  loans. 

II 

EXTRATERRITORIALITY  IN  CHINA 

By  Professor  W.  W.  Willoughby  of  Johns  Hopkins  University 

(Extract  from  a pamphlet  prepared  for  the  Conference  on  American 
Relations  with  China) 

Whatever  advantages  may  result  from  the  exercise  by  the  Powers 
of  extraterritorial  rights  in  China,  the  following  objections  to  the 
system  exist : 

1.  The  whole  system  is  in  derogation  of  the  dignity  of  a great 
and  civilized  people. 

2.  Because  of  this,  its  enforced  existence  tends  powerfully  to 
create  an  anti-foreign  feeling. 

3.  The  system  deters  China  from  opening  up  her  entire  territory 
to  full  foreign  settlement  and  unrestricted  commercial  intercourse. 

4.  It  necessitates  a multiplicity  of  courts,  that  is,  different  courts 
for  the  nationals  of  each  of  the  Powers  that  enjoy  extraterritorial 
rights. 

5.  It  necessitates  the  appreciation  of  diverse  laws.  Thus,  if  several 
persons  of  different  nationalities  are  engaged  in  the  same  transactions, 
not  only  must  each  of  them  be  proceeded  against  in  different  courts,  but 
their  legal  rights  and  responsibilities  must  be  determined  by  different 
laws. 

6.  In  not  a few  cases,  it  is  found  that  there  are  no  laws  applicable 
to  the  facts  involved. 

a8 


7-  The  Chinese  injured  by  the  criminal  acts  of  nationals  of  the 
other  Powers  have  no  way  of  knowing  whether  the  sentences  imposed 
are  actually  carried  out. 

8.  In  many  cases  the  inconvenience  of  taking  the  offender  before 
the  nearest  consular  court  as  required  by  the  treaties,  and  then  of 
producing  the  necessary  witnesses  or  other  evidence,  makes  it  prac- 
tically impossible  for  the  Chinese  who  have  been  injured  by  the  acts  of 
foreigners  to  take  any  action  whatever  in  order  to  obtain  redress.  As 
to  this,  the  following  may  be  quoted  from  a recent  volume  by  a highly 
educated  Chinese  scholar.  Dr.  Ching-Lin  Hsia,  entitled  Studies  in 
Chinese  Diplomatic  History.  Doctor  Hsia  says : 

It  is  universally  known  that  a Chinese  is  not  in  the  habit  of  seeking  justice 
at  the  law  courts,  and  least  of  all  at  foreign  institutions  of  which  he  knows 
nothing.  Therefore  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  a Chinese  would  bring  any 
ordinary  complaints  against  any  British  (or  other  foreign)  subject  to  the 
‘‘nearest  consul,”  whose  consulate  may  be  situated  at  a distance  of  one,  two,  or 
five  hundred  miles  away  from  the  place  where  the  civil  (or  criminal)  injury 
took  place,  even  if  he  could  be  sure  that  justice  was  on  his  side  and  he  could 
afford  the  necessary  expense  and  trouble  to  undertake  the  required  journey 
thither  to  receive  his  scanty  justice.  . . . Few  Chinese  know  anything  about 
treaties  and  fewer  still  understand  the  working  of  them.  ...  In  China  there 
exist  no  such  professional  lawyers  who  can  explain  this  complicated  system  to 
an  intending  plaintiff  and  furnish  him  such  information  as  to  enable  him  to  pro- 
ceed confidently  to  the  particular  consulate  of  the  district.  . . . Thus,  in  theory, 
a Chinese  may  always  have  redress  against  an  alien  in  his  consular  court;  in 
practice,  however,  there  are  many  difficulties  in  the  way  of  language,  difference 
in  court  procedure,  disparity  of  punishments  of  the  two  systems,  and  the  com- 
plexities of  western  law.  The  natural  result  is  that  the  Chinese  would  decide 
to  swallow  his  grievance  without  recourse  to  law,  and  he  would  console  himself 
with  a bitter  determination  that  never  again  would  he  have  any  more  dealing 
with  foreigners. 

9.  From  the  very  nature  of  this  authority  the  extraterritorial 
courts  have  little  or  no  authority  over  the  plaintiffs  in  the  suit  brought 
before  them.  From  this  lack  of  authority  it  results  that  these  plaintiffs 
cannot  be  punished  for  perjuries  or  contempts  committed  by  them  in 
the  course  of  the  proceedings.  Furthermore,  these  courts  are  not  com- 
petent to  consider  legitimate  set-offs  or  counterclaims  which  may  be 
brought  forward,  the  validity  of  such  set-offs  or  counterclaims  being 
determinable  only  in  the  Chinese  courts  since  they  are  in  the  nature 
of  actions  in  which  the  Chinese  appear  as  defendants. 

10.  In  general,  the  extraterritorial  courts,  being  held  by  consuls, 
are  not  administered  by  persons  technically  trained  in  the  law.  The 
justice  that  is  had  is  thus  often  of  the  most  haphazard  character.  In 
many  cases  there  is  no  appeal  from  consular  decisions  for  the  correc- 
tion of  legal  errors,  and,  when  there  is  a right  of  appeal,  the  costs,  in 
most  cases,  are  sufficient  to  deter  the  plaintiffs  from  exercising  the 
right. 

11.  Finally,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  the  consular  or  other  officials 
holding  the  extraterritorial  courts  are  under  a strong  temptation,  which 
in  many  cases  they  cannot  resist,  to  favor  the  sides  of  their  own  na- 

29 


tionals  who  are  the  defendants  in  the  cases  brought  before  them.  The 
partiality  thus  displayed  is  undoubtedly  considerable,  and  in  the  con- 
sular courts  of  certain  countries  is  so  great  that  almost  never  is  a 
verdict  against  the  defendant  obtained. 

Ill 

LETTER  TO  SENATOR  BORAH  FROM  21 1 AMERICANS 
IN  NORTH  CHINA 

Summer  of  1925 

Honorable  Sir: 

We,  the  undersigned  American  citizens,  resident  in  North  China, 
have  read  with  great  interest  the  press  dispatches  reporting  your  stand 
in  favor  of  the  retrocession  of  extraterritorial  rights  and  opposing 
armed  intervention  in  China. 

While  refraining,  as  yet,  from  passing  any  public  judgment  with 
regard  to  the  events  in  Shanghai  of  May  30th  and  following,  which 
we  believe  to  be  but  an  incident  revealing  deep  and  new  undercurrents 
of  feeling  in  the  Chinese  nation,  we  venture  to  address  you  in  order 
to  express  our  approval  of  the  stand  you  are  reported  to  have  taken. 
We  believe  that  the  United  States  should  take  such  a position,  for  the 
following  reasons : 

(1)  We  regard  the  present  Chinese  nation-wide  movement  as  the 
expression  of  a growing  patriotism  which  is  fundamentally  not  anti- 
foreign,  but  which  is  a justifiable  protest  against  existing  treaties  no 
longer  acceptable  to  a self-respecting  nation.  We  believe  that  this 
movement  shows  an  increasing  and  healthy  interest,  on  the  part  of  the 
Chinese  people,  in  the  affairs  of  their  nation  and  a growing  inclination 
to  express  public  opinion  on  public  questions.  We  feel  that  on  such  an 
interest  of  a people  in  their  national  affairs  and  on  enlightened  public 
opinion  must  be  laid  the  foundations  of  any  democracy. 

(2)  We  believe  that  non-intervention  and  the  expressed  purpose 
of  retrocession  of  extraterritoriality  will  serve  to  assure  the  Chinese 
nation  of  our  continued  and  increasing  friendship  and  that  such  an 
act  of  international  good  will,  at  such  a time,  will  do  much  to  allay 
what  fear  or  suspicion  there  may  be  in  China  of  foreign  aggression  or 
oppression,  and  will  create  an  atmosphere  favorable  to  the  solution  of 
the  present  difficulties  and  to  mutual  understanding  and  good  will. 

(3)  We  are  convinced  that,  not  to  mention  personal  safety, 
American  enterprise  in  China,  particularly  business  and  missionary 
enterprise,  is  fundamentally  dependent  for  its  success  upon  the  friend- 
ship and  good  will  of  the  Chinese  people.  It  is  upon  this  solid  founda- 
tion that  we  desire  to  have  our  work  rest,  rather  than  upon  unwelcome 
treaties  or  armed  force. 

(4)  We  feel  that  conditions  in  China  have  reached  a point  where 
extensive  military  intervention  in  the  present  situation  by  foreign 
Powers,  in  order  to  protect  foreign  enterprises,  would,  so  far  as  the 
missionary  work  is  concerned,  not  only  alienate  the  good  will  of  the 

30 


Chinese,  but  practically  render  useless  any  further  attempts  by  for- 
eigners to  preach  the  Christian  message  of  love  and  human  brother- 
hood in  this  country. 

In  conclusion,  we  would  not  presume  to  outline  the  actual  steps 
to  be  taken,  but  we  would  express  the  eager  hope  that  our  Government 
will  avail  itself  of  this  great  opportunity  for  proving  again  its  sincere 
friendship  for  China  and,  by  whatever  measures  seem  best,  will  accord 
the  most  generous  treatment  possible  to  this  great  nation  at  this  critical 
moment  of  her  spiritual  awakening. 

Respectfully  yours, 

(Signed  by  211  Americans.) 

IV 

A COMMUNICATION  TO  THE  AMERICAN  MINISTER, 

PEKING 

(Signed  by  Some  200  American  Citizens  Resident  in  Nanking) 

Nanking,  China,  June  28,  1925. 

To  THE  Hon.  John  V.  A.  MacMurray, 

American  Minister,  Peking,  China. 

Sir:  We,  the  undersigned,  American  citizens  in  Nanking,  respect- 
fully submit  the  following; 

We  deeply  deplore  the  fact  that  although  a month  has  elapsed  since 
the  Nanking  Road  tragedy  in  Shanghai,  no  joint  commission  has  made 
an  impartial  investigation  of  the  affair  and  the  causes  leading  up  to  it. 
Many  conflicting  reports  have  been  issued  by  interested  parties.  Hence, 
we  believe  that  until  such  a commission  with  adequate  Chinese  as  well 
as  foreign  representation  is  appointed,  and  its  official  findings  are  pub- 
lished, there  will  be  no  mutual  trust  and  permanent  good  will  between 
the  Chinese  and  citizens  of  other  countries. 

We  are  firmly  convinced  that  the  Chinese  people  are  peculiarly 
susceptible  to  reason  and  the  arguments  of  justice  and  righteousness, 
when  these  are  adequately  presented.  We  are  confident  that  if  properly 
chosen  representatives,  who  understand  the  psychology  and  customs 
of  China,  will  make  this  investigation,  they  can  suggest  a sofution  of 
the  present  conflict  that  should  be  acceptable  to  all  parties.  We,  there- 
fore, respectfully  urge  that  the  representatives  of  the  American  Gov- 
ernment in  China  use  their  influence  to  secure  the  appointment  of 
such  a commission  to  make  a thorough  investigation  of  the  tragedy. 

Recognizing,  moreover,  that  the  present  trouble  is  an  expression  of 
deep  resentment  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  against  what  they  consider 
foreign  discrimination  and  injustice,  we  further  respectfully  urge: 

i.  That  the  Government  of  the  United  States  of  America  continue 
its  highly  commendable  policy  of  seeking  such  a revision  of  treaties 
with  China  as  shall  be  mutually  just  and  advisable.  We  recognize  the 

31 


good  will  and  new  attitude  toward  China  which  was  manifested  by 
the  nations  participating  in  the  Washington  Conference,  and  we  deeply 
appreciate  the  interest  and  the  efforts  of  the  American  Government  in 
bringing  about  a more  just  relationship  between  China  and  the  other 
nations.  We  also  recognize  the  difEculties  within  China,  and  without, 
that  have  been  met  in  making  the  new  diplomacy  effective.  Never- 
theless, it  is  our  conviction  that  the  American  Government  should  con- 
tinue to  urge  upon  China  the  willingness  and  the  desire  of  the  Ameri- 
can people  to  proceed  with  this  important  matter. 

2.  That  the  Government  of  the  United  States  of  America  use  its 
influence  in  every  legitimate  way  to  bring  about  such  changes  as  shall 
result  in  China  being  treated  as  an  equal  in  all  international  relations, 
and  that  China,  on  the  other  hand,  be  asked  to  fulfill  the  essential  con- 
ditions and  meet  the  obligations  of  such  a relationship. 

3.  That  the  officials  of  the  American  Government  use  their  influ- 
ence in  all  legitimate  ways  to  restrain  our  own  representatives,  or  those 
of  other  nations,  from  adopting  a policy  dependent  upon  military  force 
as  an  active  element  in  the  solution  of  the  present  trouble. 

We  pledge  ourselves  to  endeavor  by  word  and  deed  to  dissuade 
our  Chinese  friends  from  adopting  methods  of  violence  and  force,  at 
the  same  time  urging  them  to  work  for  the  speedy  establishment  of  a 
more  stable  and  responsible  government. 

In  conclusion,  we  pledge  our  allegiance  to  the  high  ideals  which 
have  hitherto  led  the  Government  of  the  United  States  of  America 
and  its  citizens  to  promote  peaceful,  friendly,  and  mutually  helpful 
relations  with  the  people  of  China.  It  is  because  we  do  not  wish  to  see 
these  friendly  relations  impaired,  but  increasingly  promoted,  that  we 
have  submitted  the  above  statements. 

V 

STATEMENT  REGARDING  THE  CHINA  SITUATION 

Issued  by  Committee  of  Reference  and  Counsel,  Foreign  Missions 
Conference  of  North  America,  25  Madison  Avenue,  New  York, 

July  7,  1925 

The  newspapers  of  July  2nd  carried  the  announcement  that  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  is  prepared  to  meet  with  the  other 
Powers  in  conference  in  regard  to  carrying  out  the  provisions  of  the 
Treaties  and  the  accompanying  Resolutions  relating  to  China,  which 
were  adopted  by  the  Washington  Conference  on  Limitation  of  Arma- 
ment in  1921-22. 

Secretary  Kellogg’s  announcement  has  been  received  with  pro- 
found satisfaction  by  officers,  members  and  supporters  of  the  Boards 
and  Societies  interested  in,  and  cooperating  with,  the  Christian  Move- 
ment in  China.  We  hope  that  the  suggestion  of  the  Government  of 
the  United  States  will  be  acted  on  favorably  by  the  other  Powers  signa- 
tory to  the  Washington  treaties.  The  representatives  of  the  Signatory 

32 


Powers  were  agreed  when  they  met  in  Washington  that  it  was  desir- 
able “to  safeguard  the  rights  and  interests  of  China” ; and  to  this  end 
the  Treaties  relating  to  China  were  concluded  and  the  accompanying 
resolutions  adopted. 

Information  reaching  us  from  China,  through  trustworthy  sources, 
indicates  that  the  prolonged  delay  in  bringing  about  the  arrangements 
for  the  relief  of  China  ccmtemplated  in  the  Washington  Treaties  and 
Resolutions  has  created  serious  misunderstandings  on  the  part  of  the 
Chinese  people. 

At  this  distance  from  China  we  are  not  competent  to  form  an 
opinion  as  to  the  responsibility  of  those  involved  in  the  reported  local 
disturbances  but  we  record  our  conviction  that  a permanent  settlement 
of  the  difficulties  existing  in  China  will  be  effected,  not  by  the  use  of 
(or  by  the  show  of)  force,  but  by  friendly  conference  between  those 
concerned. 

While  believing  that  China’s  greatest  and  most  difficult  problems 
are  within  herself  and  that  their  solution  involves  the  establishment  of 
stable  and  just  government,  the  realization  of  national  unity,  and  the 
adoption  and  enforcement  of  enlightened  laws,  we  believe  justice  to 
China  demands  the  readjustment  of  the  treaty  relations  between  China 
and  other  nations  as  suggested  at  the  Washin^on  Conference ; and  that, 
until  these  Treaties  are  readjusted,  there  will  inevitably  continue  to 
be  misunderstandings  between  China  and  other  nations.  We  identify 
ourselves  with  those  who  are  endeavoring  to  secure  justice  for  China 
in  all  her  relations  with  the  other  nations  because  it  is  the  simple  and 
inalienable  right  of  China. 

Signed  by  the  Secretaries  of  Boards  and  Societies  carrying  on 
work  In  China,  and  chairman  and  secretaries  of  the  Committee 
of  Reference  and  Counsel. 

VI 

REPORT  ADOPTED  AT  AMERICAN  CONFERENCE  ON 
RELATIONS  WITH  CHINA 
Johns  Hopkins  University,  September  17-20,  1925 
(From  a summary  by  Dr.  A.  L.  Warnshuis) 

“Generally  speaking  we  are  agreed  that  extraterritoriality  should 
be  abolished  and  that  customs  autonomy  should  be  given  to  China. 
There  is  danger  that  our  differences  may  be  exaggerated.  There  are 
divergences  of  view,  but  I believe  in  fundamental  principle  we  are 
agreed.  We  are  not  altogether  agreed  regarding  the  process  to  be 
adopted  or  the  program  to  be  followed  in  carrying  this  principle  into 
effect.  That  is  to  say,  we  are  not  fully  agreed  at  this  time  whether 
the  abolition  of  extraterritoriality  or  the  giving  of  customs  autonomy 
should  be  by  one  stroke  or  whether  it  should  be  by  progressive  stages. 

“I  think  the  meeting  this  afternoon  and  the  conference  has  recog- 
nized that  the  method  of  approach  to  the  Chinese  people  and  govern- 
ment is  of  extreme  importance.  There  is  a great  deal  of  difference 

33 


between  our  making  demands  upon  the  Chinese  people  and  referring 
promises  from  them  to  us.  There  is  a good  deal  of  difference  between 
our  insisting  that  they  must  do  certain  things  first  of  all  and  their  com- 
ing to  us  in  return  for  assurances  that  we  give  them  with  promises 
that  they  will  on  their  part  do  certain  things  that  will  make  possible 
the  realization  of  these  things  upon  which  we  are  agreed. 

“With  reference  to  this  question  of  time  and  method  and  pro- 
gram, we  recognize  that  these  are  questions  that  a conference  like  this 
cannot  deal  with.  They  are  questions  which  necessarily  must  be  re- 
ferred to  such  international  bodies  as  the  Customs  Conference  which 
is  meeting  in  Peking  on  October  26th  and  to  the  Commission  on  Extra- 
territoriality which  is  meeting  in  Peking  on  December  i8th.  In  both 
of  these  bodies  the  Chinese  Government  and  the  governments  that 
have  signed  the  Nine- Power  Treaty  and  those  who  have  later  shown 
their  adherence  to  that  treaty,  will  be  represented  by  formally  ap- 
pointed delegates  sent  by  each  of  these  governments.  We  hope  there  in 
that  meeting  these  parties  meeting  on  a platform  of  complete  equality 
will  be  able  to  come  to  an  agreement,  as  friends  and  brothers  in  a great 
family  of  nations. 

“Further,  with  reference  to  the  opportunity  and  responsibility  of 
the  United  States  Government,  the  opinion  was  expressed  that  the 
United  States  Government  should  take  a position  of  vigorous  leader- 
ship in  these  international  negotiations.  Up  to  the  time  of  the  full 
realization  of  the  Washington  treaties  we  hope  that  our  government 
will  continue  to  press  strongly  for  the  agreement  of  all  the  Powers  con- 
cerned in  order  that  all  of  them  may  faithfully,  as  we  know  they  all 
intend  to,  carry  out  the  promises  and  programs  which  were  outlined 
in  those  treaties  and  resolutions  adopted  in  Washington  in  1901. 

“Upon  the  completion  of  the  Customs  Conference  and  the  Com- 
mission on  Extraterritoriality,  we  do  not  believe  that  the  action  of  our 
government  should  depend  upon  the  complete  agreement  of  all  of  these 
Powers  concerned,  for  the  simple  reason  that  we  think  that  our  govern- 
ment should  not  be  delayed  in  determining  its  own  policy  by  the  action 
or  the  failure  to  act  by  one  or  more  of  the  Powers  who  have  com- 
paratively small  interests  in  the  Pacific  and  in  the  Far  East  and  in 
China. 

“It  was  pointed  out  at  the  meeting  this  afternoon  that  among  the 
Powers  signatory  to  these  treaties  there  are  certainly  five  Powers  who 
have  more  poignant  interest  in  the  Pacific  and  in  China — China  her- 
self, Japan,  Great  Britain,  France,  and  the  United  States. 

“We  hope  that  our  government  will  most  earnestly  endeavor  to 
work,  and  in  the  most  effective  way  possible,  to  secure  the  agreement 
of  these  five  Powers  in  carrying  out  the  recommendations  which  will 
be  made  by  the  conference  in  October  and  the  commission  that  meets 
in  December.  But  at  the  same  time  our  government  should  have  the 
firm  purpose  of  acting  independently  if  it  is  found  impossible  within 
a reasonable  time  to  secure  the  concurrent  action  of  these  other  four 
Powers — -the  other  three  in  addition  to  China  that  I have  mentioned.” 

34 


VII 


MESSAGE  OF  THE  NATIONAL  CHRISTIAN  COUNCIL  TO 
THE  CHRISTIANS  IN  CHINA 

Adopted  by  the  Executive  Committee,  July  i6,  1925 

“In  the  first  place,  in  the  midst  of  sorrow,  confusion,  indignation 
and  embarrassment,  we  feel  very  keenly  the  need  that  all  we  Christian 
people,  Chinese  and  foreign  alike,  should  stand  together  in  one  fel- 
lowship, quieting  our  minds  and  souls  before  God  and  trying  to  hear 
His  voice.  How  difficult  it  has  proved  to  ascertain  the  facts  of  the 
tragic  events  in  Shanghai,  Hankow,  Canton,  and  other  places!  How 
easy  to  jump  to  hasty  conclusions  and  to  pass  judgment!  How  much 
misunderstanding  has  already  been  caused  by  ill-advised  or  prejudiced 
persons?  Under  the  circumstances,  we  firmly  believe  it  to  be  the  duty 
of  all  Christians  to  refrain  from  passing  judgment  at  present.  Let  us 
rather  advocate  thorough  investigation  and  insist  upon  full  justice 
being  done.  We  believe  this  to  be  the  voice  of  God,  and  this  voice  all 
people,  Christians  and  non-Christians  alike,  must  heed. 

“In  the  second  place,  we  would  clearly  point  out  that  the  present 
difficulties  did  not  rise  like  a thunderbolt  out  of  a clear  sky.  They 
have  much  unpleasant  history  behind  them.  Many  people  of  different 
nationalities,  races,  and  creeds  have  openly  advocated  that  all  causes  of 
misunderstanding,  ill-feeling,  malice,  jealousy,  enmity,  and  hate,  should 
be  studied  and  removed. 

“What,  then,  are  some  of  these  causes?  Space  does  not  permit 
us  to  enumerate  them  all.  However,  it  is  important  to  mention  among 
others  the  following: 

“Internal  Causes:  Militarism  and  Civil  War;  Political  Corruption; 
Banditry;  Poverty;  the  Curse  of  Opium,  Morphia  and  Other  Nar- 
cotics ; Ignorance  of  the  Masses ; Mental  Unrest  of  the  Student  Class : 
Resentment  Against  Unequal  Treaties;  etc. 

“External  Causes:  Foreign  Aggression  and  Domination;  Unequal 
Treaties;  Racial  Pride;  Smuggling  of  Opium,  Other  Narcotics,  and 
Firearms;  Lack  of  Understanding  of  the  Chinese  Temperament  and 
Aspirations;  etc. 

“We  can  hardly  believe  that  Christians  whether  Chinese  or  for- 
eign will  want  to  spend  any  time  in  arguing  as  to  which  of  the  coun- 
tries concerned,  China  or  some  foreign  country,  should  be  the  first 
to  remove  the  causes.  Is  it  not  safe  and  right  for  us  to  assume  that, 
in  accordance  with  Christian  principles,  neither  China  nor  any  for- 
eign country  concerned  would  wish  to  allow  any  of  these  things  to  con- 
tinue? Not  only  that,  should  not  we  Christians  definitely  acknowledge 
the  above-mentioned  things  as  the  basic  causes  of  our  present  crisis 
and  offer  our  very  best  service  to  remove  them?  Furthermore,  should 
we  not  take  prompt  steps  to  promote  a better  understanding  between 
and  appreciation  of  China  and  the  foreign  Powers  and  to  reestablish 

35 


the  cordial  relationships  among  them?  To  fail  to  perform  this  impor- 
tant duty  is  just  as  serious  as  to  sow  the  seed  for  another  world  war. 

“In  the  third  place,  we  wish  to  state  that  Christianity,  patriotism, 
and  good  citizenship  are  not  necessarily  opposed  to  each  other.  To 
be  a Christian  does  not  at  all  mean  to  be  unpatriotic  or  to  surrender 
one’s  rights  of  citizenship.  We  are  not  dealing  with  that  kind  of 
narrow  and  selfish  patriotism  and  citizenship  which  is  really  un-Chris- 
tian and  of  which  we  see  so  much  around  us.  To  us,  a Christian 
should  be  the  highest  type  of  patriot  and  the  noblest  example  of  citizen. 
A Christian  cannot  but  be  opposed  to  a patriotism  which  is  bigoted, 
blind,  or  prejudiced ; he  can  have  no  use  for  a citizen  who  loves  his  own 
country  at  the  expense  of  other  countries.  A Christian  does  not  defend 
his  country,  right  or  wrong;  but  he  always  stands  for  the  right  even  if 
this  position  will  align  him  against  his  own  country  on  any  particular 
occasion.  Still,  he  is  ever  ready  to  assist  his  country  to  move  forward 
in  the  path  of  righteousness,  justice  and  peace,  and  he  is  second  to 
none  in  this  service.  He  holds  himself  in  readiness  to  render  this  assist- 
ance to  other  countries  as  well.  Cannot  we  Christians,  foreigners  and 
Chinese  alike,  during  this  terrible  crisis  clearly  exhibit  our  Christian 
citizenship  which  includes,  but  rises  above,  our  respective  national 
citizenship,  and  our  Christian  patriotism  which  seeks  not  only  the  good 
of  our  own  country  but  also  of  other  countries?  In  facing  the  tragic 
events  of  the  past  weeks,  can  we  not  rise  above  our  narrow  national  or 
racial  limitations?  Can  we  not  be  Christians  first  of  all,  and  then 
citizens  of  our  respective  countries  ? 

“In  the  fourth  place,  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  point  out  that  dur- 
ing a crisis  of  this  kind,  if  we  are  not  careful,  all  our  baser  feelings,  un- 
Christian  attitudes,  and  materialistic  tendencies  will  get  the  better  of 
us  and  lead  us  astray  on  the  one  hand;  and  a feeling  of  despondency, 
a revengeful  spirit,  and  most  disturbing  doubts  of  not  only  the  reign 
but  also  the  existence  of  God  will  haunt  us  on  the  other.  Have  we 
Christians  in  China  no  ministry  for  this  situation?  Must  we  allow 
ourselves  to  fall  into  either  of  these  groups?  God  forbid!  By  all 
means,  we  should  make  a supreme  effort  to  lift  ourselves  as  well  as 
the  people  of  different  countries  concerned  way  above  any  idea  of,  or 
desire  for,  national  aggrandizement,  vainglory,  pride,  prestige,  military 
prowess  and  domination,  selfishness,  vengeance,  and  hate.  More  than 
that,  we  should  expound  and  represent  the  Christian  viewpoint  of  right 
versus  might,  of  humility,  righteousness,  justice,  forgiveness,  and  love. 
Most  vital  of  all,  we  should  emphasize  and  help  make  real  the  spir- 
itual basis  of  the  world  and  the  universe.  It  is  not  any  temporal 
powers,  however  strong  and  formidable  at  the  time,  but  the  spiritual 
that  will  conquer,  transcend  and  endure.  It  is  these  that  will  be 
blessed  of  God. 

“In  the  fifth  place,  we  wish  to  point  out  an  open  secret  that  the 
very  foundation  of  the  Christian  faith  of  many  people  has  been 
shaken  by  the  present  situation.  Men  and  women  are  asking  if  Chris- 
tianity is  a practical  and  all-adequate  religion,  and  if  the  Christian 

36 


way  of  life  is  a practical  and  all-adequate  way  of  life.  Indeed,  these 
are  most  serious  and  challenging  questions  which  we  cannot  ignore  or 
escape.  They  must  be  given  satisfactory  and  satisfying  answers, 
and  this  right  soon.  Can  the  Christian  way  of  life  be  practiced  by 
an  individual  even  when  his  personal  or  national  interests  are  at  stake  ? 
Is  not  the  Christian  way  of  life  at  best  a way  for  the  individual ; or,  can 
it  be  applied  also  to  the  economic,  social,  and  political  life  of  a people? 
Does  this  way  of  life  have  any  influence  on  the  international  and  inter- 
racial life  of  the  world?  Can  we  Christians,  both  as  individuals  and 
in  our  corporate  relationships,  answer  these  questions  not  only  affirma- 
tively but  also  concretely?  Can  we  or  should  we  seek  to  evade  them 
or  turn  a deaf  ear  to  them  ? 

“What  about  the  long  accepted  principle  that  the  Church  should 
not  meddle  with  politics?  We  must  agree  that  the  Church  should  not 
meddle,  if  by  that  we  mean  for  the  Church  to  seek  to  control  the 
government  or  actually  to  interfere  with  its  functions.  The  history  of 
European  countries  furnishes  us  with  many  illustrations  of  the  dis- 
astrous results,  both  to  the  state  and  to  the  Church,  when  they  failed 
to  distinguish  clearly  between  their  respective  functions  and  when  the 
Church  attempted  to  control  the  policies  and  acts  of  governments.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  political  powers  violate  any  or  all  of  the  Christian 
principles  of  life,  should  the  Church  remain  silent  and  passive?  We 
do  not  see  how  the  Church  can  ever  be  absolved  from  its  sin  in  failing 
to  give  itself  to  the  expression  of  the  principles  of  the  Prince  of 
Peace  against  the  military  programs  which  led  to  the  great  war — a 
war  which  later  made  not  only  Europe  but  the  entire  world  to  sustain 
unprecedented  losses  and  the  calamitous  consequences  of  which  will  be 
felt  by  future  generations.  This  sin  was  committed  in  the  name  of 
“not-meddling-with-politics.”  Shall  churches  and  missions  in  China 
follow  the  same  course?  One  of  the  immediate  tasks  before  the 
churches  and  missions  is  to  thoroughly  study  afresh  and  together  this 
whole  question  of  the  relation  of  church  and  state  in  the  light  of  mod- 
ern conditions  in  China  to-day. 

“It  is,  however,  evident  that  if  Christianity  is  to  survive  as  God’s 
way  of  life,  as  being  practical,  all-adequate,  and  uplifting,  each  indi- 
vidual Christian  must  think,  speak,  and  act  in  accordance  with  Christ’s 
principles  no  matter  what  interests,  private,  group,  or  national,  are 
at  stake.  Thus  Christianity  will  penetrate  and  transform  the  economic, 
social,  and  political  life  of  the  people ; and  it  will  reign  supreme  in 
all  internal  relations.  It  is  Inconceivable  that  certain  areas  of  life 
should  be  shut  out  from  the  Christian  way  or  influence.  God  reigns 
over  the  entire  universe  and  not  merely  over  a section  of  it.  He  does 
not  divide  His  realm  with  either  Mammon  or  Mars. 

“In  the  last  place,  should  we  not  seriously  consider  what  the  state 
of  organized  Christianity  in  China  is  to-day?  There  are  more  than 
one  hundred  separate  Christian  organizations  which  are  by  no  means 
all  working  harmoniously  together.  We  see  traces  of  misunder- 
standing, jealousy,  strife,  and  ill-feeling  among  them.  May  we  pause 

37 


for  a moment  also  to  consider  the  relationships  existing  between  the 
churches  and  missions.  Are  they  happy?  Do  we  see  clearly  how  the 
transfer  of  the  work,  if  such  transfer  is  possible  or  desirable,  from  the 
missions  to  the  churches  is  to  be  made?  Have  not  the  missions,  as  a 
whole,  carried  too  much  ecclesiastical  baggage  over  from  the  West? 
Do  our  troubles  arise,  if  we  are  troubled  at  all,  from  real  Christianity 
itself  or  from  this  excessive  baggage?  In  short,  is  the  organization  of 
Christianity  as  we  find  it  in  China  to-day  satisfactory  and  satisfying? 
Or,  in  view  of  the  situation  here,  do  we  feel  the  need  of  certain  changes 
in  it  which  may  be  more  helpful  to  the  life  of  the  people  in  China? 
If  so,  what  changes?  Is  it  not  high  time  for  us  quickly,  sincerely, 
humbly,  before  God  to  find  out  the  needs  and  aspirations  of  the 
Chinese  people  and  with  diligence  press  forward  and  onward  toward 
our  ultimate  goal?  We  must  preserve  and  utilize  the  best  of  our 
Christian  inheritance,  and,  while  faithful  to  God’s  Word,  be  courageous 
to  discard  those  extraneous  things  which  are  of  no  real  value  to-day. 
Certainly,  we  should  retain  the  best  contributions  in  the  Christianity 
from  the  West,  and  again  we  should  not  hesitate  to  incorporate  into  the 
life  of  the  Christian  Church  in  China  the  most  helpful  and  inspiring 
elements  of  Chinese  civilization.  Such  a commingling  of  the  best  of 
different  civilizations  not  only  will  not  obscure  the  face  of  our  Father 
in  heaven  but  will  surely  reveal  His  very  nature  to  us  in  clearer 
and  more  forceful  ways.  The  churches  and  missions  should  at  the 
earliest  possible  moment  make  a most  critical  but  constructive  study 
of  organized  Christianity  as  it  exists  in  China  to-day  and  introduce 
those  changes  which  will  make  the  Christian  way  of  life  more  effec- 
tive, helpful,  and  better  in  accord  with  the  ideals  and  practices  of 
Chinese  life. 

“The  N.  C.  C.  firmly  believes  that  this  is  the  time  of  all  times 
when  the  churches  and  missions  in  China  need  to  take  time  to  behold 
God’s  face,  to  understand  better  His  nature  as  revealed  in  Christ  and 
the  Cross  of  Christ,  to  grasp  His  Holy  Will,  to  study  His  Word,  to 
meditate,  to  pray,  to  intercede  and  to  live  Christ  in  the  fullest  sense. 
It  is  our  sincerest  hope  that  this  message  may  at  least  call  the  attention 
of  Christians  everywhere  both  to  the  seriousness  and  the  hopefulness 
of  the  present  situation,  may  stimulate  them  to  clear  thinking,  courage- 
ous planning  and  action,  so  as  to  reveal  Christ  more  perfectly  to  the 
people  of  China  and  of  the  world.” 

VIII 

RESOLUTIONS  WITH  REGARD  TO  EXISTING  TREATIES 

IN  CHINA 

Adopted  by  unofficial  meeting  of  eighty-six  officers  and  members 
of  thirty-seven  Mission  Boards  and  Societies  of  the  United  States 
and  Canada  working  in  China  held  in  New  York,  October  2 and  3,  1925, 

38 


This  unofficial  meeting,  composed  of  officers  and  members  of  Mis- 
sionary Boards  and  Societies,  of  the  United  States  and  Canada  that 
are  working  in  China,  called  to  consider  the  present  conditions  of  mis- 
sionary work  in  China,  adopts  the  following  resolutions : 

Whereas,  We  heartily  sympathize  with  China  in  her  aspirations 
for  just,  equal,  and  fraternal  relations  with  other  nations  and  in  her 
sense  of  the  present  injustice  of  existing  treaties,  and. 

Whereas,  We  believe  that  the  developments  that  have  taken  place 
in  China  in  the  course  of  .several  decades  necessitate  the  revision  of 
the  existing  treaties  between  China  and  other  Powers ; therefore,  be  it 
Resolved, 

1.  With  reference  to  the  existing  treaties: 

That  we  urge  the  early  revision  of  the  treaties  with  China  in  such 
a way  as  to  give  effective  application  to  the  following  principles 
agreed  upon  in  the  treaty  signed  by  nine  Powers  in  Washing- 
ton on  February  6,  1922,  namely: 

Article  i.  “The  Contracting  Powers,  other  than  China,  agree: 

(1)  To  respect  the  sovereignty,  the  independence,  and  the  ter- 
ritorial and  administrative  integrity  of  China; 

(2)  To  provide  the  fullest  and  most  unembarrassed  oppor- 
tunity to  China  to  develop  and  maintain  for  herself  an 
effective  and  stable  government; 

(3)  To  use  their  influence  for  the  purpose  of  effectually  estab- 
lishing and  maintaining  the  principle  of  equal  opportunity 
for  the  commerce  and  industry  of  all  nations  throughout 
the  territory  of  China; 

(4)  To  refrain  from  taking  advantage  of  conditions  in  China 
in  order  to  seek  special  rights  or  privileges  which  would 
abridge  the  rights  of  subjects  or  citizens  of  friendly  states, 
and  from  countenancing  action  inimical  to  the  security  of 
such  states. 

2.  With  reference  to  extraterritorial  jurisdiction: 

a.  That  we  express  ourselves  in  favor  of  the  abolition  of  extra- 
territoriality in  China  at  an  early  date. 

b.  That  we  further  express  the  opinion  that  the  determination  of 
that  date  and  of  the  provisions  that  may  be  considered  mu- 
tually desirable  should  be  undertaken  cooperatively  on  terms 
of  equality  by  China  and  the  other  Powers. 

3.  With  reference  to  the  treaty  provisions  according  special  privileges 

to  missions  and  missionaries: 

a.  That  when  our  respective  governments  negotiate  the  new 
treaties  which  are  so  urgently  needed,  we  wish  it  to  be  under- 
stood that  we  do  not  desire  any  distinctive  privileges  for  mis- 
sions and  missionaries  imposed  by  treaty  upon  the  Chinese 
Government  and  people. 


39 


b.  That  correlatively  we  consider  it  desirable  that  the  Chinese 
Government  by  such  legislation  as  may  be  deemed  necessary 
define  the  rights  and  privileges  of  missionaries,  in  particular 
to  acquire  and  hold  property  and  to  carry  forward  their  work 
in  China. 

c.  We  also  express  our  desire  and  judgment  that  the  principle 
of  religious  liberty  should  be  reciprocally  recognized  in  all 
future  relationships  between  China  and  other  nations. 


46 


